Junior Ghostbusters
by RetroWriter2012
Summary: The Disney/Ghostbusters saga continues in this "mini series" that introduces a new league of rookie Ghostbusters as they get a crash course in ghost-busting when a new threat arrives! A total of 30 stories complete this series! Reviews are welcomed!
1. Story 1

"_We're Ready To __NOT__ Believe you!"_

September 2005

One of the things Meagan Tully hated dearly about having a ten o'clock curfew was not being able to sleep comfortably until six in the morning, an hour before she had to get ready for school. It wasn't insomnia or caffeine that was keeping her up all night long. The fear of something creeping in her closet was what did it.

Of course, she knew how ridiculous it was to be scared of "monsters in the closet" at 17 years old. But she knew for certain that something was in there, as she had found clumps of blue fur in the corner one day and even noticed a large, animalistic foot with talons pop out from behind the door—although it was too dark to fully notice, she knew it had to be one.

And then one creepy circumstance occurred that particular night at thirty-five minutes pass midnight, when a heavy, eerie growl emerged within the closet, creeping Meagan to the point that she reached over to her bedside phone (after she snatched up her thick glasses) and dialed the numbers to New York's expert paranormal investigators/exterminators, the Ghostbusters. Ever since the attack of the fifty-foot "Marshmallow Man," she was convinced that there wasn't anything these supermen and superwomen couldn't do. And if there was anyone who could take care of the monster in her closet, it was the Ghostbusters.

"Ghostbusters," she heard the tired voice of their secretary, Christina Melnitz, come over the phone, "This had better be good."

"H-Hello," said the nervously polite Meagan, "I've got a monster in my house, and I need the Ghostbusters over here to take care of it!"

There was a long pause, and Meagan wasn't sure if the secretary had hung up on her or not. She suspected that the Ghostbusters got situations like this called in all too often, considering the line of work they were in. But once she heard a yawning noise from the young woman on the other end, she suspected that they must not have gotten very many calls so late in the evening.

"Alright, sweetie. Two Ghostbusters will be over there in less than an hour." Meagan then heard a voice yelling in the background, addressing Christina as she was still on the phone. It was afterwards when the secretary added, "Make that less than _two_ hours."

Despite the lengthy wait time, Meagan was delighted in knowing that the Ghostbusters would soon be there to handle this living nightmare of hers once and for all. After she hung up the phone, the noise from her closet started to grow fiercer and was added with the sudden sound of scratching claws. Beyond frightened, Meagan covered her ears, trying her best to ignore the noises long enough for the Ghostbusters to arrive. However, the noises still could be heard through her deafened ears, causing her to wince in fear. Rather than sit down on the bed any longer, Meagan immediately hid underneath it, waiting there until help came.

* * *

At exactly an hour and a half later, faint sirens were heard from outside the apartment building. For a while, Meagan believed it was just probably a passing ambulance. It sounded like it could've been. However, it quickly dawned on her that the Ghostbusters drove something like was like an old-fashioned ambulance, and she realized that it had to be them.

With lightning-quick speed, she crawled out from beneath her bed (still hearing the eerie, inhuman noises that emerged from her closet) and dashed out of her bedroom. Crossing the bedroom that belonged to her parents, who normally slept with the television set on (thus solidifying a late-night welcome for the Ghostbusters), she ran through the living room and opened the front door. She stood out in the hallway outside, searching left and right for any sign of uniformed strangers with nuclear accelerators on their backs. When she saw none, she figured that they hadn't even gotten out of the car yet.

Patiently waiting for them to get to the tenth floor of the building, which seemed to have taken them just as long as getting there by vehicle, Meagan was delighted once she watched Dr. J.G. Stantz and Diana Zeddemore walked out of the elevator. As excited as she was, she barely noticed how they were yawning with tired, bloodshot eyes. Stantz practically needed a big, cold can of _Red Bull_ just to get him past the building's entrance.

"Oh, my god! I'm so glad you guys are here!" Meagan exclaimed, doing her best to keep a low voice in the silent hall. "C'mon! C'mon! This way!" Highly energized, she was practically leaping up and down in her Scooby-Doo pajamas, guiding the two Ghostbusters into her bedroom.

Stantz wiped away a tad bit of crust from his eyes, as he and Diana crossed the young lady's living room. "Jeez, has there ever been a night where we just slept in?"

"It's Venkman's idea, Jay." Diana said. "The more late-night calls we get, the more our finance increases."

"That is just a load of…" Before he could finish his statement, a loud, unexpected belch emerged from his own mouth, nearly waking the young girl's parents as they crossed their bedroom. "Excuse _me_."

Meagan just laughed off his blunder. "It's no prob. My dad farts in his sleep, while my mom's mouth is wide open." After that comment, all J.G. and Diana could've done in response was stare blankly. But what more could they have expected from someone who wore Scooby-Doo pajamas.

Once they were all inside Meagan's bedroom, Stantz and Zeddemore could barely believe how crowded and cluttered it looked. Diana's shin repeatedly bumped against the side of her bed, just to get past J.G. and Meagan, in order to scan the room with the P.K.E. Meter. Although she had no idea who to read it, she knew whenever it vibrated or beeped, there had to be some ghostly activity in the perimeter.

Unfortunately, at the moment, she was receiving not a single one.

After she looked over to J.G. and shook her head negatively, Stantz then turned to the girl and asked, "Uh…what did you say was your problem again?"

"I've got a monster in here."

The two Ghostbusters exchanged a suspicious glance, which Meagan failed to notice, due to her focus being on the closet door. She realized that the eerie sounds coming from there had strangely stopped, leaving no obvious evidence of any paranormal activity.

"What exactly did this monster look like, hon?" Diana asked her.

"I…I don't know." Her focus was still on the closet door, as beads of sweat began streaming down her forehead, drenching some of her hair and turning it from a brown, caramel-colored to more of a dark chocolate shade. "All I know is that it's coming from the closet."

Diana suspected something like this, before arriving at the scene. The scenario was too plain for her not to see: a teenager, living in the Bronx, late one school night, and a monster in the house. She would've figured on it being a burglary of some kind. But a monster in the closet was stretching it a bit.

With her shin bumping against the side of the bed again, Diana walked over to Meagan and placed an arm around her. "Sweetie, when I was your age, I used to be scared of the dark, too. I used to think Freddy, Jason, or Michael was hiding somewhere in my room, ready to slice my head off or something. But you know how I got over it?"

"No…how?"

"I started drawing pictures of their faces. And instead of putting a scarred face on Freddy, a hockey mask on Jason, and a William Shatner mask on Michael, I just drew Ronald McDonald on Freddy, the Hamburglar on Jason, and…"

"Grimace on Michael?" Meagan inquired.

"No, actually I just put Leonard Nimoy to contradict the William Shatner look." Diana admitted. "But, anyways…instead of being in a scared mood, I just got hungry and felt like watching _Star Trek_."

J.G. grinned and shook his head over Diana's advice (if that what she was calling it), making certain their young friend was looking nowhere near him, in order to help sell it. Despite the oddity of the advice, he still voiced an acknowledgement of it. "Most psychological fears are usually triggered by imagination, and expressing them into art form is an excellent remedy."

The technical lingo that J.G. used confused Meagan a little. But she understood enough to realize that the two Ghostbusters were pretty much telling her that she had a wild imagination. "I…I'm not imagining this, guys! I saw what I saw!"

"I thought you didn't see the monster." Diana said with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't! I just heard what I heard!"

"Which was?" asked Stantz.

"Scratching claws, growling, gurgling, laughing…" As Meagan continued on with the list of noises, the fed-up Diana rolled her eyes and moved over to the closet door, grabbing the doorknob and turning it. Meagan stopped once she saw what the Ghostbuster was doing and yelled, "No! Don't open it!!"

But, despite her protest, the door was opened. And they were met with the horrifying sight (and stench) of week-old clothes, tennis shoes that were long past due of being replaced, and even half-emptied pizza and hamburger boxes. If a monster had been in there, he certainly would have died from the foul smell.

"Oh, god!" Diana uttered, holding her nose.

"And I thought only ghosts could make this kind of mess." J.G. stated, waving his gloved hand in front of his face to keep away the smell.

Meagan was left scratching her head. She was too confused to be embarrassed of the mess she failed to clean up in her closet, knowing for sure that she heard noises coming from there. "I…I…I don't get it. I heard something in there."

Diana quickly shut the door, before the foul smell of corn chips and rotten lettuce fumigated the whole building. "Word of advice, kiddo…clean up before you invite _anybody_ into this house."

"Yeah, anybody but Venkman." J.G. added. "I'm sure she'd love to hang out over here."

A look of excitement manifested on young Meagan's face. "You really think she would?"

Diana and J.G. looked at her for a brief second and then to each other on the next. They both slowly shook their heads in mock disappointment, before exiting the room and Meagan's apartment entirely. Still confused over what just occurred, Meagan stood at the center of her cluttered, crowded room, staring down at the floor.

Suddenly, she heard a slow, creaking noise, coming directly from the closet door, which was supposed to be closed. As slow as the noise was made, Meagan's eyes darted toward the door. Her body was paralyzed with immense fear; her eyes being the only movable part of her. The door stopped halfway in its opening, short but wide enough for any creature to slip through. Meagan braced herself for any oncoming encounter she would receive, with nothing whatsoever to protect her from harm.

She expected another growling sound to accompany the creature's entrance, the only noise that was really made was an unusual crunching one, as if there was more eating than scaring involved. Meagan wondered what kind of monster this was to be making frighteningly eerie noises at first and then eating whatever was left in those takeout boxes in her closet.

And the answer to her question seemed to have come, once the creature popped out from behind the closet door, munching down on a half-eaten Big Mac. The creature in her closet turned out to be a Cyclops monster in the shape of a tennis ball, with one large eye, two horns on his head, and arms and legs, but no torso.

It spoke in a voice that oddly reminded Meagan of Billy Crystal, Mr. Toad, and Sammy Davis, Jr. rolled into one, with a hint of burger still in its mouth. "Keep leavin' great meals like this in here, and I might just bring all my friends over during break!" And with that said, he quickly slid back into the closet, closing the door behind him.

Before it had completely closed, however, Meagan's once-paralyzed form suddenly shifted as she ran to the door. She grabbed the doorknob and opened the door all the way, anxiously wanting to see the monster one last time before it vanished.

But, unfortunately, it once again did.

Whether Diana Zeddemore was right in her chosen method or not, Meagan immediately went to work on drawing out the creature she had just witnessed. With the back of a pizza box from inside the closet and a thick black marker from a nearby desk, she started to draw a large circle.


	2. Story 2

"_Present Day"_

It was one thing for Christina Melnitz to watch her favorite ABC television program, _Lost_, in the comfort of her own home; but it was a whole different scenario when it came to viewing a repeat on YouTube on her desk computer. Because her _TiVo_ was on the fritz, rather than her favorite show, all that was recorded was some ridiculous repeat of _Dancing with the Stars_. And with all of the commotion happening in the garage area of the firehouse, with the new recruits for Doctor Venkman's special "Junior Ghostbusters" program, it was hard to focus on what was happening in this year's season finale.

Knowing then wasn't a good time to see if Jack Shepard was going to prevent Oceanic 815 from crashing in the future, Christina let out a deep sigh and minimized the window. It switched to a desktop image of Dr. Sean Spengler posing in his Ghostbuster uniform, with his arms folded, his glasses down an inch away from the bridge of his nose, and a copy of _Tobin's Spirit Guide_ in hand. And as much this image comforted her, it was not enough to ease her stress of having a room full of eager kids half her age and Disney characters.

Being twenty-six years old and having full seniority over everyone in the room were enough good reasons for her to tell them all, "Everybody shut it!!" And instantly the recruits fell silent, each of them giving a stunned look towards Christina, who sat back down at the same moment J.G. Stantz came out from the basement, wearing his usual uniformed attire.

Stantz seemed highly anxious as he entered, eyeing all of the new recruits with a big grin on his face. He approached Christina's desk and asked her, "Are these all of them?"

Still a bit peeved, Christina sternly responded, "All except for one kid named Tully and a few people from the Incas, one of which is Kuzco."

"Kuzco?" J.G. remarked in surprise. "As in _Emperor_ Kuzco?!"

"The one and only," said Christina, who started to squirm around a little in her rickety, wooden rolling chair. "Dr. Venkman can afford twenty thousand dollars on a recruitment project, but not on a foamed chair to suit my numbing butt!"

J.G. chuckled. "It's for a good cause, Christina. We're spreading our tools and talents over to the community, handing them down over to the next generation, so to speak. Definitely one of the best ideas Venkman came up with, since starting Ghostbusters."

"Yeah, if Dr. Venkman was so righteous on the idea, then how come she's not here with us, dealing with these wildcats?"

"You know she's got that gig happening over in the West Coast right now, working on promos and deals for the business to help expand across the country. It's all part of her intentions to keep others from suffering from paranormal disturbances like citizens here do." Stantz happily gestured to the recruits in the garage, as each of them were engaged in conversation with one another, sharing their enthusiasm of being in the official Ghostbusters headquarters. "These guys will pave our way for the future."

Christina smiled at J.G., her stress having completely passed her. "Now you're sounding just like her."

"Hope that's a good thing." Stantz chuckled, and Christina along with him. "I'm going to get these recruits lined up for the registration papers, and we'll have interviews after." Christina acknowledged with a nod, before J.G. gently patted her back. "The day will be over soon before you know it, kiddo."

A light chuckle emerged from Christina's glossed, pink-hued lips. "Yeah, I hope so."

* * *

Meagan Tully's hands rubbed nervously against her blue jeans, as she attempted to remove the sweat developing on her palms. She rubbed them so hard that they turned red and even stung a little. The level of tension swelling up within her was intense, as she stared right across the street at the Ghostbusters' firehouse headquarters. A large, black, plastic-made banner hung above the front entrance, displaying the "Ghostbusters" name on it with the "O" replaced by the company logo. She didn't know why, but the sight of it made her feel intimidated.

Despite the intimidation, she knew there was no reason to feel so nervous. It was nearly four years ago when two of the Ghostbusters were at her place, nevertheless poking fun at her "problem" at the time. Although the bust was…well…a bust, she gained a valuable tip from it—a tip that she carried in the purple-shaded backpack that she had on.

Taking a moment to check if it was still there, she removed the backpack and reached inside. She felt through items that she deemed important to bring with her for the trip to the firehouse, from mango-flavored lipstick to a notebook that could've been handy for taking crucial notes about the "Junior Ghostbusters" program. Finally, she felt the object of her desire, as her hand came upon a rough object. She pulled it out and smelled the bizarre odor that it carried, having a bit of a familiarity with it.

The object was the same back of the cardboard pizza box that she pulled out from her closet on the night the Ghostbusters visited her apartment. On it was a crudely drawn image of the one-eyed monster she had seen that very night. What brought out the oddity of the object even more were the grease stains still plaguing it, as well as the molds growing around the illustration.

It was plain to Meagan that the stains and the molds didn't matter all that much, as long as the drawing was still visible. She desired for it to be seen by the Ghostbusters, hopefully the same two that she was visited by. Of course, it wasn't concrete enough to prove what she had seen that night. But it was enough to go by, even if it had been four years since the event occurred. She only hoped that the Ghostbusters would still remember, despite the busy times they've spent catching spirits and monsters of all shapes, sizes, and colors.

With a smile and a sudden wave of confidence flowing through her, Meagan placed the drawing back into her backpack before putting it on again. She took a step forward, attempting to cross the street, until…

_SCREEEEEEEECCCCCCCCHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!_

A yellow taxicab pulled in right across her, coming to an abrupt halt. It nearly ran right over her right foot, possibly popping her toes right out of her sneakers. She froze in place, obviously taken by shock from the sudden arrival of the vehicle. Most New Yorkers would complain; Meagan just swallowed her gum.

Four tan-colored people dressed in red and white clothing came out of the taxicab, one of whom was highly recognizable to Meagan as the Incan emperor, Kuzco. Needless to say, he was less than pleased of the mode of transportation chosen by his friends, Kronk and Malina, while at the airport.

"I don't see why we could've just ridden on a limousine," he complained.

"Because it's expensive, Kuzco." Malina stated. "We could barely afford the plane ride!"

"I am the emperor. I have treasures aplenty. We should've arrived in Manhattan in st-hi-hi-yle!"

Kronk pulled out a small collection of large shiny golden coins from his pocket, shifting through them in his hand. Each and every one of them had an engraved image of Kuzco. "I don't think the state of New York accepts Kuzco coins, Kuzco."

The young emperor rolled his eyes in disgust. "Yeah, they'd much rather accept nasty, rusty, and something else that ends with 'ty' coins with some old guy with a ponytail."

"HEY!" The loud, angry voice came from inside the taxicab, as the driver was addressing the three youths outside the car. "One of youse foreigners gonna pay yer fee or do I haveta call da cops?!?!"

"Go ahead and call them." Kuzco said, much to the surprise of Kronk and Malina. "Maybe we can start getting some justice around here."

Before the driver could've granted the emperor's wish, Melina quickly stepped in and paid their fee, with American money provided by the one responsible for their trip, Principal Amzy (a.k.a. Yzma). Meanwhile, Kuzco took notice of Meagan's presence, as she continued to stand where she was, still paralyzed in shock.

"You! Strange, four-eyed girl with the funky-smelling backpack!" The urgency in his voice instantly snapped Meagan out of her frozen state, almost frightening more than she already was. "Carry the bags from our cab, will ya?"

And without even a second thought, Meagan immediately said, "Uh, sure."

"Good girl." Kuzco said, before taking one of the Kuzco coins from Kronk's hand and flipping it over to Meagan. "Here, take this for your troubles."

Meagan didn't expect to even catch the coin, with the poor hand-eye coordination she had. But, much to her surprise, she caught the coin and, without even taking a moment to glance at it, placed it in the left pocket of her jeans. However, unbeknownst to Meagan, there was a hole in that pocket big enough for the coin to fall through. It dropped down her pant leg and exited out through the bottom, hitting the concrete. Unfortunately, it didn't stop there. The coin then rolled its way down the sidewalk and fell directly into the nearest storm drain.

And Meagan hadn't witnessed its departure at all.

* * *

"Dude! Can you believe we're even here?!" Pete Jr. (also referred to as simply "P.J.") exclaimed to his best friend and son of Goofy, Maximilian Goof. "Man, I've always wanted to meet Doctor Venkman! She is one bodacious babe!"

Max chuckled, as he waited in the line leading straight to Christina's desk. "I hear ya on that one, P.J. But I'm more interested in the equipment. Those nuclear accelerators are packed with awesomeness, dude!" He suddenly spotted J.G. Stantz passing right by them and quickly asked an important question to him. "Hey, bro! Do we actually get to handle the gear?"

Stantz fretted with an answer, not wanting to ruin the enthusiasm of the young recruits. "Uh…we'll see, okay?" As he noticed the enthralled expressions still on their faces, he left their side and continued with his task of checking to see who was all registering into the program. He was less than surprised to see the familiar faces of Alex Russo, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Cody Martin there in line, waiting for their official registration papers.

"Uh, excuse me?" Stantz turned and noticed a dignified-looking teenager focused on him. He stood in line with Alex and another teen that somewhat resembled the two of them.

"Yeah, what's up?" J.G. inquired.

The teen was about to ask his question, until Alex interrupted with her eyes rolling. "Justin, don't bug him with it. It's no big deal."

"It _is_ a big deal, Alex." Justin said. "There has to be order maintained here or else there'll just be chaos."

J.G. became slightly concerned with what the two were talking about. "What's going on here?"

"I noticed another kid show up here with the same name as my little brother, Max." Justin informed. "How are we going to be able to address him, without attracting the attention of the _other_ Max?"

"I can just change my name. I've always been thinking of going with 'Rico'."

"You aren't going to change your name, because Mom and Dad would freak if you did." Justin declared.

"Justin, this kind of stuff happens all the time in other communities, whether they're classrooms or chat rooms." Alex said. "I'm sure they'll just call him by his last name, like they usually do with each other."

Justin sighed, not seeming to be convinced. "But then we'll start confusing each other on which Russo they're calling out. No! No way! I'm asking there to be separate programs!"

"We only have one program going, kid." J.G. stated. "And we intend on sticking with it, until there is a need for another one."

"Yeah, dude," said Zack Martin, who stood behind the Russo siblings with Cody during the argument. "It's just a name. Chill out."

"Excuse me, but this is a family matter." Justin retorted. "No strangers allowed!"

"Who ya callin' strange?" Zack angrily asked. "At least I'm not the one buggin' about some stupid name!"

"Hey! Max is not a stupid name!"

"Did somebody just call me 'stupid'?!" Maximilian Goof yelled from ahead of the line.

"My son maybe a goof, but he ain't stupid!!" Goofy shouted, his voice even louder than Max's, attracting the attention of the people near Christina's desk, as well as Christina herself. She was just on the verge of handing registration papers over to Phineas and Candace Flynn, Ferb Fletcher, and Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, until the disturbance in the back of the line interrupted her.

Regardless of the attempts by J.G., Mickey, and even Donald (the rowdiest of all) at maintaining the peace, a huge debate occurred amongst the Russo siblings, the Martin brothers, and Max and P.J., all over the name of Max. It went on for nearly five whole minutes, before the sound of the front door busting open brought a sudden silence over the room and directed everyone's attention to whatever caused it.

There, standing near the opened door, was Emperor Kuzco with his arms outstretched and a smile brighter than the afternoon sun shining through the door. "Boom, baby! The emperor has arrived!" Behind him were a disgusted Malina, a nervous Kronk, and a horribly exhausted Meagan Tully, who stumbled in with twenty-nine suitcases, all belonging to Kuzco. "Now will somebody show this young stud where that certain hottie-hot-hottie, Doctor Venkman, might be?"

Witnessing Kuzco's underwhelming arrival, J.G. rubbed his eyes in irritation, not quite expecting these fresh recruits to be so much of a handful. He felt a hand gently come down his shoulder and turned to see Christina with a smile that could only have a sarcastic vibe behind it. "Looks like the day's gonna be a lot longer than we expected, dude."


	3. Story 3

"_Weird Science"_

All of the registration forms from the new recruits were finally filled in, meaning they were officially applicable to be "Junior Ghostbusters" at the moment. It also meant that Christina could finally get back to watching her program, without any interruptions. In the meantime, J.G. led the recruits downstairs to the basement, where Dr. Sean Spengler was in the process of upgrading the team's state-of-the-art Proton Packs and fitting it with the same functions that made Alexis Embers's advanced version such a treat to use.

There was a large metal worktable right across from the Containment Unit that he operated from, wearing his uniform beneath a welder's mask, apron, and gloves while carving into certain areas of the four-foot, forty-five pound particle accelerator. Fiery sparks flew to the right and left with each carve he made with the small blowtorch, some of them bouncing right off his mask.

Stantz made sure to keep himself and the recruits back from a safe distance, as Spengler was hard at work. "Uh, as you all can see, this is where we store our ghosts once they're…" He stopped as soon as he noticed a female hand rise up from the crowd of recruits. "Yes, you have a question, Miss…"

The recruits parted faster than the Red Sea to allow the one that raised her hand to be seen by J.G. "Tully…Meagan Tully."

"Your parents must've been pretty weird to give you the same first and last names," uttered Kuzco, with a scoff. He was suddenly elbowed in the ribs by Malina for his ridiculous comment. "Ouch! What did I say now?"

Rolling his eyes at the young emperor, Stantz returned his focus on Meagan. "I'm sorry. Please continue."

"Well, I…I just w-wanted to ask if I could see…"

"Jay?!" A somewhat muffled voice came from near the worktable, as Sean Spengler turned and looked to the group, his mask still obscuring his face. Between that and the blowtorch still flaming in his grip, it brought out a slightly intimidated feeling over the recruits, especially Meagan, who had completely forgotten her question. "What's all of this?"

"These are the new Junior Ghostbusters for Venkman's program." Stantz explained. "I'm giving them a little tour of the headquarters that they'll be staying in over the summer."

"Oh, that's right!" Sean exclaimed, right before he shut off the blowtorch and lifted his mask, revealing his friendly yet stern face to the recruits, who began to calm down a little. "I would have expected there to be more of them."

Stantz looked over the small group of rookies before him and smiled. "Well, it's not much now. But with a little more believing, I'm sure we'll have more by at least the end of June."

Out of the crowd came two of the smaller and younger recruits named Phineas and Ferb, who ran directly up to Spengler with a surge of energy that could only be found in their age range, which seemed "less than fifteen" to Spengler. "Dr. Spengler, Ferb and I are _big_ fans of your work! You invent the coolest weapons for the Ghostbusters. Our favorite's got to be the Ghost Traps. Ferb thinks that with the right amount of frequency on the force field, the trap could possibly open the gateway to a parallel dimension."

Spengler couldn't help but to stare at these two boys for a long moment and wonder out loud, "Aren't you kids a little young to be Ghostbusters?"

"Yes," replied Phineas, almost instantly. "Yes, we are."

Nearby, Candace just rolled her eyes over her little brother and stepbrother's enthusiasm over ghost-hunting technology. "F.Y.I., it was _not_ my idea to come here. I just need a good summer job to earn enough money to buy a digital camera that I can use to bust my brothers for good." She was telling this to no one in particular; although the only person listening seemed to have been Isabella.

"Good luck with that," she said with a hint of sarcasm that could barely be deciphered, due to her sweet, high-pitched voice.

After Phineas and Ferb got their moment of idolizing Sean Spengler, Maximilian and P.J. approached the worktable and gawked over the half-completed Proton Pack sitting there. "Whoa! Awesome!"

"Be careful not to touch that machine, boys." Spengler warned. "It is extremely hot and contains high levels of nuclear radiation that, if released, could have severe side effects on the body."

Max and P.J. stared blankly at him, before they again responded by saying, "Whoa! Awesome!"

"A-hyuck! I wouldn't worry too much about Maxie, Dr. Spengs." Goofy said, as he approached his son and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Da Goof family has been known ta take many bumps and falls." He stopped for a minute and pondered over something, placing a finger over the tip of his chin and looking upward to the ceiling. "But, uh, can't recall if we ever went through radiation poisonin'."

Sean grinned, as he removed his mask and apron. "Trust me, Goofy. It is one thing that I don't believe any member of your family would survive from."

"Tell them what it'd be like handling one of these toys, Spengs." J.G. suggested to which the grin on Spengler's face grew ever so slightly, as he reached underneath his worktable and pulled out a Proton Pack that he had recently repaired.

Once he had it strapped to his back, he moved over to the large Ecto-Containment System and dialed in a six-digit number on a keypad to the left of the machine that automatically opened the slot through which the Ghost Trap should be inserted to fully contain the captured ghost. But Spengler did not open the slot to insert a trap; he purposely left it exposed to do the complete opposite of the system's primary function.

"What I am about to do I suggest for none of you to reenact, while you're serving on the Ghostbusters staff." Spengler declared, as he entered another series of numbers into the keypad.

Within the Unit's slot there came a bright purple light that grew rapidly in a matter of seconds. It shot out from the slot and across the room, stopping at the very center. J.G. and the recruits watched in disbelief as a human-shaped form began materializing before their eyes, from bottom to top. However, once it finished doing so, they quickly realized the subject wasn't as human as they believed, when it became more detailed.

What Spengler had realized from the Containment System turned out to be a horrifying creature of the supernatural—a half-dead pirate with pale blue decaying skin on one half of his body and nothing more than bones on the other. His clothes were tattered and reeked of alcohol and blood. In his skeletal hand, he carried a long, sharp sword that he held up high, desiring to attack the mortals before him.

Stantz's eyes widened in shock upon seeing what Spengler had unleashed back into the living world. "You had to release one from our bust at the docks, three years ago?!"

"I figured I'd like a bit of a challenge," said the confident Spengler.

The half-dead pirate roared with fury, as it charged towards J.G. and the Junior Ghostbusters, who all had screamed in panic. When it leaped high into the air, clutching its sword in a stabbing position, Sean opened fire and contained it within the confines of his particle stream.

"Have any of you ever been fishing before?" He asked, while wrangling the ghost in his stream. None of the recruits responded to his question, so he asked again, only this time more aggressively. "Have any of you ever been fishing?! Yes or no?!" Slowly, a few hands started rising from the crowd, mostly from the boys. "When you're fighting to keep a ghost withheld in your stream, it is the equivalent to catching a bite from a fish."

"So what do you do once you've caught it?" Justin asked.

"Simple," said Spengler, as he detached a Ghost Trap from his pack. "You simply _pull_ it out of the water." He then threw the trap across the floor and stopped it beneath the captured ghost. Phineas and Ferb looked upon it with huge smiles, waiting with much anticipation for the next part—their favorite part. With a brief stomp on the footpad, the Ghost Trap flew open and sucked the half-dead pirate into it, howling once more as it vanished into the device.

After the ghost had been trapped, Stantz walked right over to the device, which began to smoke and give off an odor that was far worse than the half-dead pirate's. He picked it up by the cord, dangling it in front of the recruits, who each held their noses in disgust. "And that, boys and girls, is how you successful contain a ghost during a bust."

Spengler walked right up next to Stantz, attaching his particle thrower to the right side of his pack with a confident grin. "After a series of tutorials, you will eventually be able to bust a ghost with as much ease as I have just done."

Kuzco scoffed at Spengler's words. "Who needs tutoring? That looks like a piece of cake."

"It might _look_ simple, but there are risks that must be taken into consideration when handling this equipment." Spengler stated.

"But you said it yourself that it's like fishing." Max Goof indicated. "And my dad and I go fishing almost every summer."

"Er…yes, but…"

"Soooo, just strapped me up with one of those puppies, and I'll take it from here." Kuzco arrogantly said.

"Ohh, no, you don't." Malina disapproved. "You're not gonna fry half of New York City with your inexperience."

"Apparently, someone's forgotten the fact that I have an underground laboratory beneath my palace. I don't need some dumb tutorial to show me how to work…uh…whatever that thingy's called."

P.J. chuckled. "For real, man. Tutorials are for video games."

"You guys are gonna realize the hard way that what we do out there on the streets is no game." Stantz remarked.

"Looking at the entertainment value of your occupation, however, one can possibly consider creating a video game based on your lives." Ferb unexpectedly stated, with such preciseness and clarity through his British accent. "It would make for a delightful virtual experience."

Silence had fallen over the room for a brief period of time before Phineas proudly declared, "I know what we're going to do next summer!"

A series of rapid footsteps were suddenly heard from the nearby staircase, as everyone turned to see Christina enter with a look of great concern over her face. "Guys! Diana just contacted me over the phone! Something went wrong during the run that she and Alexis went on!"

Stantz and Spengler looked to each other, highly worried about what Melnitz had just told them. Immediately, they headed out of the basement with the recruits, not long after Spengler removed his Proton Pack. As soon as they arrived upstairs and approached Christina's desk, J.G. picked up the phone and spoke directly to Diana Zeddemore.

"Dye, what's wrong? What happened out there? Is Alexis alright?"

A huge sigh came over the receiver, as Diana responded rather sarcastically. "Gee, Jay. I'm doing just fine. Thanks for askin', man!"

"Sorry," he said. "Christina just informed us of your situation. Is Alexis okay? What went wrong?"

"Well…remember those demonic canines that we encountered while fighting Gozer, five years back?" Zeddemore said. "They're back."

"Say what?!" Stantz exclaimed.

"Yeah…don't ask me how, because I'm not the parapsychologist that you guys are." Diana insisted. "I just know that it's here, and it just kicked our butts _really_ bad!"

J.G. sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead in despair. "Okay, but where is Alexis right now? Is she still…?"

All of the sudden, there was a high-pitched scream heard in the background, followed by a monstrous roar. Diana's voice then came in and viciously shouted, "Back off, you butt-sniffing biscuit breath!" The sound of her particle thrower firing its powerful stream sounded over the phone, forcing J.G. to move it from his ear, due to the loudness of it.

"Diana? Hello? Are you still there?!" He worriedly cried.

Soon there was silence over the phone, and the next thing Stantz heard was a recording of the phone service. "Your call has been disconnected. Please hang up and try again. If you need help, please contact your…"

Not bothering to listen to a pointless recording, J.G. hung up the phone and turned to Spengler, sweat starting to pour from his forehead. "Diana and Alexis are in trouble. They're fighting those beasts that Gozer unleashed over Manhattan years ago."

"The Terror Dogs?" Sean remarked in surprise. "That can't be!"

"Well, it has, and they need our help." Stantz boldly said.

Spengler nodded in agreement, before he headed downstairs to retrieve a couple of Proton Packs to take with them. While doing so, Stantz was approached by Meagan Tully, the girl whose question he had yet to receive. "Dr. Stantz, could I please come with you and Dr. Spengler? It's real important that I see…"

"I'm sorry, but that's totally out of the question." J.G. neglected. "You recruits are to remain here in the firehouse. You'll find your new quarters upstairs on the fourth floor."

Hearing what Stantz just said, Christina reacted in complete surprise. "We have a fourth floor now?!"

While Stantz went over to the Ecto-1 (the second vehicle parked in the garage, next to his own car, the Volvo), Meagan watched him in disappointment, wondering when she would ever get to her wish to talk with…

"Meagan." She heard a voice whisper to her from the left. Looking downward, she realized it was Phineas, who had a huge grin on his face. "I know how we can get you to whoever it is you want to see, without being spotted by Dr. Stantz and Dr. Spengler." Ferb, standing next to his stepbrother, nodded in support of his offer.

Regaining her confidence, Meagan smiled and listened to whatever scheme the boys had in mind.


	4. Story 4

"_O.K., Who Brought the Dog?"_

The immense heat of the Proton Gun was beginning to take a large toll on Diana Zeddemore's hands, regardless of the fact that she wore her huge, black rubber gloves while handling it. She felt it singeing through and eventually making extreme contact with her skin. But she wouldn't stop firing, until her comrade, Alexis Embers, did. There was no doubt in her mind that she was going through the exact same agonizing issue, which her determination greatly overweighed.

Neither of the two women could've believed what they were firing at: a completely identical and highly realistic representation of the demonic "Terror Dog" species they once faced while taking on Gozer the Gozerian. Although Alexis had never before encountered it, she heard enough stories from the Ghostbusters themselves to know just how to fear and conquer it.

Diana turned to her companion, who she worried of growing weak from this intense bust just from seeing how pale her complexion was. "Get back to the car, Alexis! I'll deal with this monster!"

Alexis scoffed at her orders. "You're just trying to play hero again, Dye! You really think I'm gonna let you…"

_BRRRRAAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!_

Their eyes opened wider in shock, as they watched the demonic canine totally elude their protonic streams by leaping twenty feet into the air and descend straight toward them. Quickly dodging out of harm's way, they avoided the monster in time for it to land right on the hood of the Volvo and practically cave it in. Seeing the massive damage done to J.G.'s car, Diana knew that he would be more than upset when he arrived to see it. However, from the way he sounded on the phone a little while ago, worried about Alexis's safety, she doubted that he would've even cared.

The dog let out an unearthly growl, as it darted its glowing red eyes towards Diana. She felt a chill go down her spine upon looking into them, almost like this monstrous animal was burning a hole through her soul. It was her preview of hell—an endless fiery pit to pain and suffering. Whatever supernatural force that created this demon must have intended for it to be a warning for a poor, unfortunate being…or some kind of punishment.

And what happened next seemed to have proven that theory for Zeddemore, once the canine directed its attention towards Alexis.

Lifting her particle thrower up high and aiming it directly at the monster, Embers attempted to fire another powerful stream. Unfortunately, the lightning-quick moves of the horrible beast robbed her of the opportunity to get another shot, as it charged at her and tackled her body right through the window of a nearby pawn shop. From a large distance, Diana watched this action done with such ferocity that she wondered if Alexis might've possibly been killed from the impact.

"Alexis!!!" She screamed, while getting to her feet and running to the pawn shop, where a mixture of Alexis's scream of fear and agony and the Terror Dog's howl of viciousness and monstrosity sounded from.

Before she even reached the pawn shop, a series of blue and red lights flashed in the corner of her right eye, following the familiar wail of the Ecto-1's sirens. She turned her head and was thankful to see the signature vehicle of the Ghostbusters pull right up next to the wrecked Volvo. Never in her whole life did she think that she would ever be so glad to see that ridiculous company logo of theirs.

Zeddemore didn't wait for Stantz and Spengler to completely climb out of the vehicle, before she approached and alerted them of what happened. "Guys, it's got Alexis! It's attacking her inside that shop over there!"

Hearing this, J.G. instantly went to the rear of the car and opened the door, pulling out his Proton Pack. Meanwhile, Spengler had already gone to work on his P.K.E. meter, scanning the empty neighborhood for anything that would explain the reappearance of the demonic canine. His readings were showing something that he couldn't properly figure out; because it seemed that he was receiving several different readings all at once, making matters quite difficult and confusing.

"Are you getting anything?" Diana asked him.

Spengler just shook his head negatively. "It doesn't make any sense whatsoever. There appears to be more than several supernatural forces bouncing off one another in this area."

Before Diana could have questioned what that meant, J.G. dashed right in between them, his Proton Pack humming powerfully on his back and particle thrower gripped firmly in his gloved hands. He was going in the ravaged shop with such determination to get Alexis out safely that he failed to understand one crucial bit of information that Diana had to give about the situation.

"Jay, wait! Your stream won't work against it!" She cried, but Stantz didn't seem to have listened, as he was too focused on his goal.

However, before he could have entered the pawn shop…

_CRASH!!!_

A human-shaped object flew out through the window of the building's third floor and descended from a height of twenty feet. It crashed face-first on top of a parked car, shattering the windows and caving in the roof on impact. Only when Stantz, Spengler, and Zeddemore noticed the still-functioning Proton Pack did they realize it was Alexis.

"Oh, no." J.G. silently said to himself, as he went over to the body of his friend, feeling all too certain that she was immediately killed or severely injured from the huge drop.

However, just as he attempted to remove her body from the damaged vehicle, she started to move completely on her own, moving one arm and a leg at a time. It was certainly hard to believe that she was doing this, considering the extent of the fall and the way she landed on the vehicle. But what was even more difficult to comprehend, once she rolled herself off the car and stood up straight, was the fact that there wasn't a single scratch on her—not even any blood drawn. It just seemed to be her uniform that suffered the brunt of the Terror Dog's attack, being heavily tattered and exposing parts of her unscathed flesh.

And despite this miraculous miracle, Alexis seemed to be focused more on her anger towards the monstrous canine that attacked her. "That is without a doubt the _last_ time I allow myself to become a dog's personal chew toy!" While observing the damage done to her Ghostbuster uniform (which seemed to have been missing the nametag displaying her last name), she couldn't help but to detect some awkwardness in the sudden moment of silence following her comment. She looked to see the astounded expressions registered on the faces of her teammates. "What? What's going on?" And yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but to notice something on the roof of the Ecto-1. "Why are there kids on our company car?"

All heads turned directly to the Ectomobile, where Meagan Tully stood atop of the vehicle with Phineas and Ferb, much to the chagrin of J.G. Stantz. "Oh, no, no, no, no! What're you recruits doing here?!"

Meagan spoke quickly, before anyone or anything else could have interrupted her. "Dr. Stantz, I really need to talk to…"

"Oh, there you are, Perry." She suddenly heard Phineas say, as a green, orange-billed and orange-tailed platypus passed right by on the nearest sidewalk. "I wonder how he got all the way out here."

Ignoring the oddity of the platypus named Perry's sudden appearance, Diana focused more on that of the two pre-teenaged boys and bespectacled young woman on top of the car. "So now we're inviting children on our busts? Is that it?"

"They're part of Venkman's new 'Junior Ghostbusters' program, Dye." J.G. explained. "And they were supposed to be taking space within their new quarters at the firehouse!" He made that last statement with a look of fury directed at the three figures on the Ecto-1's roof.

As he saw them there, Spengler wondered aloud, "How did you three get up there, without us seeing you?"

"We'd installed a special compartment between the photon emitter and the wave analyzer." Phineas answered. "There's enough room for at least four people up here. It took us only ten seconds to set it up. That's quite a record for Ferb."

Spengler rubbed his chin with his left index finger with a hint of interest in what Phineas just told him. "Fascinating."

"'Fascinating' is the last word I would choose to describe this." Stantz sternly stated. "You recruits disobeyed a direct order from a superior, during a time of crisis! What've you got to say for yourselves?"

Meagan, Phineas, and Ferb looked to each other, not entirely certain what to say in defense of their disobedience. All Meagan wanted to do was see the Ghostbuster of her current interest about something that obviously could've waited until after this crisis was adverted. But since she was already there in the middle of it all, she took this opportunity to bring it up.

Unfortunately, the moment was suddenly interrupted with a sudden, horrendous noise…

_BRRRRAAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!_

Nearly leaping out of their skins from the howl of the Terror Dog, they all looked upward to see its enormous, terrifying head poking out through the same window that Alexis had crashed through and glaring at all the mortals down below. It climbed out afterwards, digging its razor sharp claws into the concrete structure of the building, and headed up to the rooftop, evidently no longer interested in dealing with the Ghostbusters any further. They watched the monster as it continuously leaped from one rooftop to another, seeming to be headed in the direction of Downtown Manhattan.

"Where's it going?" Alexis asked.

"How much you wanna bet it's going back to its original habitat?" Zeddemore inquired.

It didn't take very long for J.G. to realize what she meant. "The Tipton Hotel! Of course! Something we did back there, months ago, seemed to have re-unlocked that door we sealed between our world and that of Gozer's."

"Yes, and this 'Terror Dog' seems to be the only fragment of what's escaped from it." Spengler deciphered. "Its high energy levels represent a sort of dimensional resurrection that was brought from our confrontation with Maleficent, which is why I was getting such complex readings."

"That could also explain why Alexis and I weren't able to take it down with our particle streams and ended up with our butts handed to us on a silver platter in the process." Diana stated.

"Precisely." Sean affirmed. "It's grown much stronger now—possibly even stronger than Gozer and Maleficent combined."

Alexis scratched her head, deeply confused and beginning to lose hope in their situation. "So how do we stop something you guys have faced and foiled before, but now cannot stop?"

"And _please_ don't say 'cross the streams'." Diana demanded.

"Obviously not." Spengler remarked. "What we're dealing with here is something that cannot be closed from within our world." He scratched his chin for a brief moment and then took out his P.K.E., taking another reading of the area again. This time, however, the readings seemed to have been aiming to a particular direction—one opposite from which the demonic canine went into. "We have our heading."

Stantz nodded in approval. "Great! You, Dye, and I will go and investigate the cause of this disturbance." He then turned to Alexis, whom he still had some worry over, regardless of the fact that she appeared totally unharmed. "Lexi, you take the recruits back to the firehouse and make sure everyone there is in line."

Her face registered a look of disappointment from this order. "But I want to come with you guys! I'm part of the team now, remember?!"

"You were just attacked by a half demon/half dog monster."

"But I'm apparently okay! See?"

J.G. let out a deep sigh, before he finally said, "That's the second mystery I'm going to figure out, right after this one."

She looked at him in great confusion, as he, Sean, and Diana all climbed into the Ecto-1, shortly after Meagan, Phineas, and Ferb were ordered to get down from its roof. Her despair increased once she watched her teammates drive away into the direction that the P.K.E. instructed them to go to find their source.

_Nice…I'm stuck babysitting the newbies now_, she thought to herself, while looking towards the recruits, who just waved at her with the oddest expressions on their faces.

Right at that moment, her cell phone began playing an electronic jingle to their company theme song from the left pocket of her uniform. She took it out and pressed the "Send" button, placing it near her mouth and ear. "Hello?"

"Alexis, is that you?!" The voice of Christina Melnitz was on the other end, sounding incredibly urgent and panicky. "We've got some huge problems over here, girl! Is there Sean, Diana, or Jay there with you?"

"No, they've just left to find whatever caused the Terror Dog to return." She answered. "Why? What's going…"

"If you've still got a Proton Pack strapped to ya, we could sure use it right about now!" Christina exclaimed. "One of the recruits here just did the most stupid thing ever!!"

Alexis rolled her eyes in aggravation; it was one thing for her to be left babysitting three rookies, but it was a completely different thing with a bunch of others. "I'll be there as quickly as possible, Christina. Just…hang tight." After hanging up the phone, she turned to Meagan, Phineas, and Ferb, with a wave of seniority coming through her like never before. "Alright, you newbies! Get in the Volvo with me! Apparently, another one of you screw-ups just made our day even worse!"

"Undoubtedly it was Kuzco." Ferb briefly stated.

Meagan glanced at the Volvo vehicle that she and the boys were ordered to get into, seeing the wrecked condition it was left in from the current battle. She wondered if it was even still drivable. Although before she could even point this out to Alexis, the still-inexperienced Ghostbuster decidedly climbed in and revved it up—apparently the engine was still functioning.

Once Meagan and the boys were onboard, Alexis started driving forward; however, because the front was so caved-in, the underbelly dragged against the concrete and made the Volvo move extremely slow. Fiery sparks shot out from the left and right and the sound of grinding metal sounded loudly through the neighborhood, as Alexis drove in the direction of the Ghostbusters' firehouse headquarters.

Unfortunately, because of all the excitement, Phineas and Ferb failed to remind themselves to bring Perry along, leaving the platypus still standing on all four at the sidewalk. However, this was an advantage of Perry's as he, whenever none of his owners were around, switched to his secret agent alter ego, "Agent P," by donning a brown fedora and standing on his hind legs. With coast entirely cleared, he disappeared right through the nearest manhole, going on his next super-secret mission.


	5. Story 5

"_One and a Half Hours Earlier"_

"I dunno, man." P.J. nervously spoke out to Kuzco. "If Dr. Spengler finds out that we've been messin' around with the equipment…"

"Relax," said the nonchalant Kuzco, who was much too preoccupied with suiting up in one of the uniforms that he had taken from Dr. Venkman's locker upstairs and strapping the remarkably heavy Proton Pack on his back and a pair of Ecto-Goggles to his head. "By the time they get back from whatever it is they're doing, they won't even realize we were here."

Max Goof rubbed his fingers through his hair, exchanging nervous glances with P.J. and wondering along with him if what they were about to do was such a good idea. There the three of them were, grouped together near the Containment System, while all of the other recruits were getting situated upstairs and waiting to train for the program in the proper way. They had only been recruited for a mere couple of hours, and Kuzco was already equipped with Ghostbuster technology.

As the young emperor approached the Containment Unit, he glanced at it closely, noting the huge array of blinking buttons, switches, and indicators to things that might as well have been Greek to him. _I bet Yzma would have a field day with all this "techy" stuff_, he thought.

"C'mon, dude!" Max exclaimed. "You haven't got the slightest clue what you're doing!"

Kuzco was about to make a retort, until he stopped and spotted the same keypad that Dr. Spengler dialed during the demonstration earlier. "Ah-ha! Here we go!" However, despite the self-assured tone in his voice, he really had no clue where to go from there. Yes, it was the keypad that Dr. Spengler used; but he totally missed the sequence of numbers he entered, due to being too focused on Malina at the time.

For a moment, he just stood there and gawked at the keypad, as if whatever was supposed to happen would happen on its own. Max and P.J. groaned, with Max going as far as slapping his forehead and rubbing his face in frustration. "Well, what're you waitin' for? Put in the code!"

"Uh, right…right…the code. I knew that." Kuzco did his best to make his fellow recruits believe that he knew what to do. After all, he was emperor of his own land and could do just about anything he pleased.

Technology, on the other hand, was a completely different scenario.

Hoping for the best, Kuzco dialed in six numbers, just like Dr. Spengler did. These numbers, of course, were simply "1," "2," "3," "4," "5," and "6" (the order of numbers he often used for the collection of safes in his palace). He knew that Dr. Spengler entered a code far more complex than that. But he would have to figure this particular one was somewhere on the list, since even Ghostbusters could easily forget things with all of the busy work they had to deal with on a daily basis.

A wave of satisfaction flowed through the young emperor, once he noticed the slot opening itself. He grinned as he folded his arms and watched for the bright purple light to shoot out and materialize a ghost for him to capture. Unfortunately, after a minute or two, nothing happened…and Kuzco was left looking like a big fool in front of Max and P.J.

"Come on, you stupid machiney!" He angrily shouted, banging his fists against the machine like he would on a vending machine with a candy bar stuck in it. "Gimme my ghost-thing to trap!"

He kept pounding the machine, making loud and hollow noises that echoed through the room, as well as up the stairs. It attracted the attention of Alex and Justin Russo, who were passing through the reception area to check out more of the Ghostbusters headquarters. They headed downstairs to the basement, and when they saw Kuzco hitting the highly nuclear Containment Unit (while wearing equally nuclear equipment), their eyes widened with fear.

"What're you doing?!" Justin cried.

Max and P.J. turned and looked to see two of the Russo siblings staring suspiciously at them, and although they weren't part of the Ghostbusters staff, they still felt like they just got busted. However, Kuzco didn't feel like there was anything he needed to hide, so he just honestly admitted, "What does it look like? I'm tryin' to free a ghost."

Alex exchanged an awkward glance with Justin and said, "Okay…why?"

"Because I want to prove to these jokers that even an amateur can handle this line of work," said the young emperor, before he went back to hitting the machine.

"Could you please stop doing that? It's like hitting an atom bomb!" Justin warned Kuzco, even though he had no clue how the machine worked—he mostly just went by all the caution signs posted around the basement.

Taking this order from Justin was the last thing Kuzco wanted, so he continued his drastic action with more ferocity. "Unless _you_ know how to pop a spooky from this thing, I suggest you back…"

_EEENNNHHH!! EEENNNHHH!! EEENNNHHH!! EEENNNHHH!!_

The buzzing alarm that came over the room was a bad sign. But the red lights that went on, replacing the regular ones that partially illuminated the room, were an even horrible sign that something went wrong. Kuzco immediately stopped hitting the machine upon hearing the alarm. This was exactly the mess that he was trying to avoid while down there.

"Uh…I say we just _slowly_ back away, walk out of here, and pretend that none of us were even here." Alex suggested.

"I'm cool with that plan." P.J. acknowledged.

"Me, too." Max added himself in.

"Ditto." Kuzco agreed.

They were just on their way towards the stairs, until they were suddenly confronted by Christina, who stood near the top of the stairs with her hands on her hips and a peeved look on her face. And seeing that look, which equaled the look his dad often gave him and Alex, Justin pointed directly to the others and boldly declared, "This was all _them_! I had no part in this _whatsoever_!"

Right at that moment, there was a huge humming sound from the Containment System that was strong enough to heavily vibrate sections of the basement. Even Christina felt the vibrations through the rail on the stairs, and her look of anger was quickly replaced with one of caution as she asked, "What in blazes did you guys do down here?!"

"Kuzco tried to free a ghost from the machine, like Dr. Spengler did." Max freely ratted, much to the dismay of Kuzco.

"Ya know, just for that, you can forget about being part of my future team!" The young emperor retorted.

Christina rushed past the recruits and went to the Containment Unit's keypad. "Which code did you enter, Kuzco?"

"I entered six digits, just like Spengler did."

"Yeah, but which digits did you enter?!" Christina urgently inquired.

Kuzco rolled his eyes and pouted. "I entered the numbers one, two, three, four, five, and six."

The cautious look on Christina's face intensified upon hearing the numbers Kuzco spat out. "You didn't enter them in that one order, did you?!"

"Of course," he said, "I'm not Tom Cruise from that weird spy movie with he wears those funny, realistic masks of old, elderly people. Or, wait…am I thinking about his makeup job in _Tropic Thunder_? No, no! I'm thinking of the spy movie. He was just funny in _Tropic Thun_…"

The young emperor was quickly cut short, as soon as Christina grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer to her, so she could glare straight into his eyes while she ranted off. "You moron! The Containment Unit has a sensitive alarm system! Entering the most random code could lead to a massive purge of all the ghosts from the machine!"

Kuzco just stared blankly at her, taken aback by all of what she told him. "Okay…and as a secretary, you know all of this, because…?"

Infuriated even more by his sexist remark, Christina shoved the naïve emperor away from her and focused on re-entering the normal code to overwrite the one that Kuzco entered. While doing so, the machine was already in the process of releasing one particular ghost, as that same purple light emitted from it and began materializing a bulbous, disfigured form at the center of the room.

Once it was fully completed, Alex quickly realized that the ghost that had been freed from the machine was the same one the Ghostbusters encountered at Pizza Planet last year. It was the green, slimy, onion-headed ghost that Dr. Venkman so religiously despised, every time she saw it near her. And because of that, it was Dr. Stantz who decided one day to name the ghost "Slimer," just for the fun of irritating her.

"Oh, man! I think we're in a _nasty_ heap of trouble!" Alex exclaimed.

Kuzco excitedly grinned, seeing the slimy ghost floating there in front of them. "Aw, yeah! Now you're about to see a beginner go at it!" He lowered the Ecto-Goggles over his eyes, getting a decent "night vision" view of the specter through them.

As Christina was still overwriting the code, she looked behind her to see Kuzco detaching the particle thrower from the Proton Pack and aiming it right at Slimer. It was worse enough that he was responsible for all of this; but it was terrible to see him make it horrible by attempting to amateurishly "bust" a ghost.

Before she could've stopped him, he already fired at Slimer, with a stream so powerful that he was literally sent flying back into the wall. It hit nowhere near Slimer but rather scared him, as he flew higher up and phased through the ceiling, leaving behind a large pool of ectoplasmic residue to drip over the group.

"I told ya this was a bad idea, man!!" P.J. cried, as he and Max grabbed Kuzco and his particle thrower, trying their best to maintain some control over both.

Alex and Justin both ducked, once they saw how the protonic stream was coming in their direction. It connected with several parts of the basement area, scorching the caution signs and teal-colored plaster on the walls. Luckily, it had not hit any of the equipment stashed in the room, especially the work-in-progress that was Sean Spengler's advanced Proton Pack.

In the meantime, the pressured Christina Melnitz was doing her best to stay focused on entering the code into the keypad. However, between the destruction that Kuzco was causing and an escaped ghost roaming through the firehouse headquarters (unbeknownst to the other recruits upstairs), it was hard to focus much on anything. And to make matters worse, the machine began releasing four more ghosts. Fortunately, they were lower-classed ghosts like Slimer. But the unfortunate part was the fact that they were the same four ghosts Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy encountered while serving as Ajax Ghost Exterminators a long time ago. And only recently had they earned a spot on the Ghostbusters' captured list, after the fiasco at Pizza Planet in the previous year.

These "Lonesome Ghosts," as Mickey nicknamed them a while back (due to their need of company and fun), were more than delighted to finally be free from the Containment Unit. They heartily laughed while floating in the air, especially when seeing the chaotic situation that the mortals below them were in. As soon as they had gotten bored watching them, they floated higher above to the ceiling. When they spotted the familiar residue, it was right then that their delight increased, realizing how their new slimy friend was there as well.

After the Lonesome Ghosts departed from the basement, Christina finally entered the code to overwrite Kuzco's lame one and close up the machine, preventing any further releases. She then went to where Kuzco was still having a difficult time controlling the Proton Gun, even with the assistance of P.J. and Max Goof. It was the knowledge she had earned from those years of being tutored by Spengler that helped her see exactly where she needed to touch, in order to shut down the Proton Pack. Between the light indicators for level of temporal overheating and stream intensity, there was a scanner reserved for "Immediate Shutdown Only" and could be activated just through scanning fingerprint DNA of any Ghostbusters staff member, including Christina.

Once she allowed her index finger to be scanned, Kuzco's Proton Pack went into immediate shutdown, with his powerful protonic stream slowly decreasing the point that it had totally vanished. Kuzco, Max, and P.J. all fell to the floor, exhausted and even embarrassed from what just occurred. Christina passed right by them, her infuriated look returned, as she pointed her finger directly at Kuzco.

"You've got some heavy-duty punishment comin' your way pretty soon, punk!" The sternness in her voice was enough to scare Kuzco straight, despite the grinning expression on his face.

_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!_

The shriek came from upstairs, where the escaped ghosts headed and were undoubtedly scaring the wits out of the other recruits. Christina went up there with Alex and Justin at her side, and once they reached the reception area, they found half of the recruits (Zack, Cody, Kronk, and Malina) rushing downstairs in a great deal of fright. Kronk was still shrieking like a girl, contradicting Christina's thoughts on whether it might have been one of the girls.

"There is some big, nasty thing causing a big funk up there in the girls' room!" Malina yelled.

"Anything's better than what was in _our_ room!" Cody quivered.

"Yeah, on the way down, I think one of them spanked me with a wooden board." Zack said, while rubbing his sore behind.

They suddenly heard the hollowed, eerie cackling from further upstairs, following the loud screams of the other recruits there. Christina knew this was too great of a problem to handle on her own, so she went to her desk and picked up the phone, dialing one of the emergency cell phone numbers they had listed—the first one being Alexis Embers's.

"Wow. You know we're in serious trouble, if a Ghostbuster is calling another Ghostbuster." Zack commented.

"Yeah…weird," uttered an extremely hoarse Kronk.


	6. Story 6

"_Slime After Slime"_

Alexis screeched her way into the firehouse garage area in the wrecked Volvo, which had taken her a lot longer than she originally planned to get there. She was just about worried, because of her ridiculous delay, that she might've been too late to help Melnitz and the other recruits from whatever it was that Kuzco unleashed.

After she had pulled right in, something oozy came out of nowhere and hit the windshield, staining every inch of the glass. Only when she, Meagan, Phineas, and Ferb got out did they realize it was ectoplasmic residue…**slime**. And there was only one ghost to come out of the Containment Unit that practically dripped with the stuff every day.

"It's the Slimer!!!" Alexis exclaimed.

"The who?" Meagan remarked in confusion.

There was a huge crash from upstairs that caused bits of plaster to fall from the ceiling and hit Alexis's eyes. Wiping it out from there, she turned to Meagan and snapped, "Never mind!" As she pulled her Proton Pack out of the car and strapped it on, she then added, "You three stay down in the basement where it's safe. I'm gonna take care of the slimy creep upstairs."

"But…we can help." Phineas said.

"Ohhhh, no, you can't!" Alexis contradicted with a huge angry look on her face. "You guys have done _way_ too much today. Now just get your little butts downstairs, like I said!" She was surprised just how much she sounded like her own mother when she said that. And what was even weirder was her understanding of why she always said it when she was around Phineas and Ferb's age, having to deal with adolescence at stressful times.

It definitely worked, regardless of the stern, motherly way she sounded, as the three recruits were already heading downstairs, while she was going up, her particle thrower firmly gripped in her hands. Upon moving up the stairs, Alexis was taken off guard by a large cabinet that tumbled down them. She hugged herself against the wall tightly, allowing the piece of furniture to pass completely and crash at the bottom of the staircase before continuing her way upstairs.

* * *

Arriving downstairs to the basement area, Meagan quickly realized along with Phineas and Ferb that they wouldn't be the only two recruits to be stuck down there. All of the others were there as well, including an extremely sheepish Kuzco, who was stripped down to his boxer shorts (the only thing he was wearing underneath the uniform of Dr. Venkman, during the time he had it on). The other recruits were firing dirty looks at him, as he stood there feeling embarrassed and ashamed, as well as cold from the huge draft down there. The only positive thing about it was the fact he was showing off the style of his boxers, which had his face printed all over them.

"Kuzco, what were you thinking?!" Malina yelled, before raising a hand in protest. "Never mind! Don't answer that! I already know the answer: you _weren't_ thinking! You never do anything without the consent of anyone around you! It's always Kuzco this or Kuzco that! Everybody do what Kuzco says or else! When will you ever start _thinking_?!?!"

The young emperor just gawked at her blankly, during the entire time she ranted at him, and then uttered, "Man! Are you ever hot when you're all upset like that!" To this typical male response, Malina just rolled her eyes and grumbled in aggravation.

Meanwhile, Candace spotted her brothers coming down the stairs with Meagan and got a bit peeved herself. "Where were you guys just now?! All heck was breaking loose just a while ago, and I didn't see you anywhere!"

"Hey, Candace." Phineas answered, sounding the complete opposite of how she did—calm and humbled. "We were hanging out with the Ghostbusters and saw one creepy-looking demon terrorizing part of the tri-state area."

"You were _not_ supposed to leave the firehouse! You're not even supposed to be working here!" Candace exclaimed. "Ohhhh, when I get enough money to buy that digital camera, I'm gonna bust you guys so bad in front of Mom, she'll have kittens!"

Phineas and Ferb exchanged a quick glance, before Ferb told Candace, "You know that's a scientific impossibility, Candace."

She was about to make a retort to Ferb's statement, just as Meagan stepped in and addressed her. "It was my fault. I wanted to talk to Miss Zeddemore about something important. They were just trying to help out."

"What is it that you're trying so desperately to talk with her about?" Cody curiously inquired.

Meagan bashfully looked down towards her feet, twiddling her fingers. "It's rather private, which was why I wanted to only talk to Miss Zeddemore about it."

"Well, we can totally respect that," acknowledged Justin, who afterwards turned to the others and added, "Right, guys?"

Kuzco only scoffed in response to Justin's statement. "Speak for yourself, guy." He directed his attention on Meagan and demandingly said, "C'mon, weirdo. Spill the beanies!"

"You're the one wearing the underwear with his own face printed all over it, and you're calling _her_ a weirdo?" Alex bantered.

"At least I'm not the one with a brother who freaks out over a name!" Kuzco retorted.

"_Hey!_" Alex snapped. "I'm the only one who gets to dog my brother! Not you, pretty boy!"

The two of them went back and forth for minutes, before the others joined in, either trying to break up the fight or encouraging Alex and Kuzco to go even further. Meagan was the only one who stood clear of all the arguing, wondering whether she should've just come out and tell everyone her secret or wait for them all to calm down. All she really cared about was when Diana Zeddemore or even J.G. Stantz would get back for her to finally "spill the beanies," as Kuzco bluntly put it. That, and the fact that neither Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, nor Goofy were down there with the rest of them.

* * *

Christina never thought she would've needed to one day strap on one of the Proton Packs in their headquarters to fend off a ghost. But when the other Ghostbusters weren't there to take care of it, drastic times called for drastic measures. And while she gripped her Proton Gun nervously, she wondered just how exactly she would bust the green, slimy specter in their kitchen on the second floor. Crouched down near the entrance, she would glance in every few seconds to see what it was doing, which was pretty much just raiding the refrigerator.

The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs caught her attention, and she watched as Alexis Embers arrived, brandishing her own Proton Gun in hand. Even though she was relieved in seeing her there, she couldn't help but to wonder out loud (in a whispering voice), "What took you so darn long to get here, girl?!"

"You try driving a wrecked Volvo through twenty miles sometime!" Alexis angrily remarked, crouching down across from Christina and peeking inside the kitchen to see Slimer gulping down an entire chocolate cake in one bite.

"Shoot! Dr. Venkman was saving that cake for herself!" Christina said. "She's gonna be ticked when she finds out who ate it."

"We'll just tell her it was the desperate and hungry Goofy, Donald, and Mickey," suggested Alexis, who quickly reminded herself of the situation with the new recruits. "Speaking of which, are they down there with the other pests?"

Christina shook her head. "No, I needed their help in busting the other four ghosts that got out."

"Other four?!" Alexis exclaimed in shock, nearly blowing their cover to Slimer. "What else are we dealing with here?"

"Nothing _too_ serious." Christina stated. "Just the same spirits that we encountered at Pizza Planet last year."

Alexis tightly shut her eyes and lightly banged her head against the wall in frustration. "I can't take handling these amateurs, Christy. They're gonna ruin our business and just get in the way of things."

A chuckle emerged from within Christina, after listening to Alexis's complaint. "Funny…the others said the same about you, sometime before we hired you on the team."

Alexis reacted in great surprise to this revelation, looking at Christina in wide-eyed disbelief. "Really?" She nodded in reply with a small grin on her face. "Why didn't they ever tell me? I mean…don't you guys trust me?"

"Of course we do, darlin'." Christina responded. "It's just that…at the time we were deciding to bring you in, so much had happened—we were coming back together again, at the same time that the world almost ended…and then there was the issue with your molecules reversing and Jay finally realizing…"

"Wait…What?!" Alexis interjected, realizing that one of the events that she mentioned stuck out like an unexpected sore thumb.

It was a tad bit too late once Christina realized that the cat had been let out of the bag. She covered her mouth and looked to Alexis in bewilderment, uncertain of how covered up her blunder. But she needn't to worry about it much longer, as a strange green tint shined over them, as well as horrid stench that plagued their nostrils.

Of course, they didn't need to look up to realize that Slimer was looming directly over them, possibly listening in on their conversation (that was if he had ears). Still focused on each other, Alexis and Christina signaled for an immediate attack with a simple nod. Without a second thought, the two stood up and aimed their throwers at the slimy ghost. They were about to open fire, until…

_GAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!_

He belched right in their faces, unleashing the odor of digested cake, burgers, and chicken…all mixed into one. It took all of what Alexis and Christina had in them to keep themselves from vomiting.

"Let's blast this little nasty!!" Christina yelled.

Again they attempted to open fire on Slimer, but they were interrupted once more by the sounds of screaming and rapid footsteps descending from the flight of stairs down the hall. They noticed Mickey, Donald, and Goofy coming downstairs, appearing extremely frightened. Equipped with no more than their original ghost-catching tools (a shotgun, a net, and an axe), the three didn't stand a chance against their old nemeses—the Lonesome Ghosts.

They were practically stampeding their way towards Alexis and Christina, who were left with no other choice but to run themselves. Heading back downstairs, the group were chased by Slimer and the Lonesome Ghosts, making growling noises as they had done so (figuring they might as well sound like _real_ monsters, since they were just as scary as them to these particular mortals).

Unfortunately, on the way down, the five mortals tumbled over one another and fell the rest of the way down the stairs. The particle thrower of Alexis's Proton Pack came to life and briefly fired a stream across the garage, connecting to the front door and blowing it away. Seeing what Alexis had accidentally done, Slimer and the Lonesome Ghosts immediately saw the real opportunity at freedom ahead of them, feeling the incredible desire to wreak havoc over the rest of the city.

Slimer turned to his ghostly cohorts and told them something in his own garbled language that they could apparently understand, as one of them laughed and replied in a hollowed voice, "Now that's the best idea I've heard in over a hundred years! Let's do it!!"

The wild ghosts bellowed with insane laughter, hovering over the fallen bodies of Alexis, Christina, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. Seeing them up there laughing, Alexis became extremely furious. She got to her feet and fired her Proton Gun, shooting out streams all around the ghosts, who immediately stopped laughing and started escaping from the wrath of the person trying to bust them.

Embers continued firing, missing her target horribly and striking mostly at the ceiling. Her streams connected with a few of the overhead lights, disconnecting the cables keeping them suspended and causing them to crash over certain areas of the garage and reception areas, including the desks of Christina Melnitz and Dr. Venkman.

Witnessing the serious damage she was causing, Christina quickly got up and shut down her Proton Pack in the same way she did Kuzco's. Once her stream had vanished in the blink of an eye, Alexis stared at her particle thrower in confusion for one minute and then turned to Christina the next, upon reminding herself of the recently-installed shutdown function in her pack. "What did you do that for?! I almost had them!"

"You were actin' _way_ out of control!" Christina exclaimed. "You've gotta cool your jets, before you create more of a ruckus than these cretins." She gestured to the escaping Slimer and Lonesome Ghosts, as they flew right through the gaping hole that Alexis's Proton Pack created.

Before departing himself, Slimer took one final moment to stop and turn his attention to Alexis. He grabbed the bottom of his mouth and pulled down hard, extending its average length to a few feet longer and exposing practically every bit of his disgusting, translucent mouth and the rest of his insides. As the foul ghost stuck his long, huge, slimy tongue out at Alexis in a disgraceful gesture, she could practically see down his esophagus and get an unwanted "sneak peek" into his stomach.

"Ehhh, now that is just _wrong_!" Christina uttered.

Alexis glared at the slimy ghost, watching him as he made a hasty exit towards the gaping hole. Just as he passed through, however, someone stood right in its frame and instantly fell victim to Slimer's disgusting nature. He phased through the upper body and left behind a massive amount of his ectoplasmic residue drenching all over the poor bystander.

It was only within a few seconds when Alexis, Christina, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy realized that the bystander was the chairwoman of their business: Doctor Kimberly Venkman. At the time of her arrival, she was wearing dark, red-tinted sunglasses that she considered herself lucky for wearing then, as they prevented the slime from entering her eyes.

Taking them off, she blinked a few times and said to the group standing across from her, "Let this be an important lesson to you ladies: _always_ wear black on Friday."


	7. Story 7

"_Keep It In The Closet"_

_(Part One: "Sometimes I Feel Like…")_

Meagan waited for what seemed like four hours to wait for Kimberly Venkman to get done in the shower, after being slimed by her worst ghostly nemesis. She couldn't blame her for being in there so long, considering how funky that ghost's ectoplasm smelled, even from a far distance. It could still be smelled, even as Venkman was washing it off her body.

As usual, Meagan occupied herself with twiddling her thumbs, while sitting on one of the five beds in the room located next door to the kitchen on the second floor. Her illustration of the monster in her closet was sitting to the right of her, still generating an odor that she believed couldn't be nearly as horrid as the one that plagued Dr. Venkman.

Once she heard the shower in the bathroom shut off, Meagan quickly stood up from the bed with her cardboard illustration in hand. She anxiously watched the open doorway, as a shadow appeared on the door. And then, dressed in a white, cottoned bathrobe and rubbing a towel through her drenched red hair, Kimberly Venkman stepped out. After taking a few moments to completely dry out her hair, she moved the towel away from it and suddenly spotted the young woman in the room that seemed to come out of nowhere.

"GAH!!!" Venkman screamed in surprise.

"AHHH!!!!" Meagan yelped, surprised herself.

Kimberly snatched the nearest object she could to guard herself from Meagan with. Unfortunately, it was an unplugged curling iron. "Who are you? And why are you in my room?"

Meagan lifted her hands up high, feeling as if she were caught by a police officer. "M-My n-name is M-Meagan T-Tully! I'm one…one of the new recruits! Please don't hurt me!"

Venkman looked curiously at Meagan for a moment and then smiled. "Oh!" She placed the curling iron back where she found it and approached the recruit, shaking her hand. "Welcome to the program. I've wanted to meet one of you kids when I got here, but…well…as I'm sure you've heard by now…"

"Yes, I'm sorry to hear that happened to you, sir…I mean, ma'am."

Kimberly waved it off with a chuckle. "It happens all the time," she said, and then added with half of a frown, "_way_ too often, in fact." She suddenly stopped and began to sniff, smelling something incredibly putrid. Sniffing the collar of her bathrobe, she wondered if another shower was needed. "Man! This stuff gets harder to come off by the week."

"Um…" Meagan sheepishly uttered, knowing full well where the smell came from. "It's not the slime that you're smelling. It's this…" She showed her cardboard illustration to Venkman, whom nearly regurgitated from its odor, which got stronger as it got closer to her nose. "I'm sorry that it smells so bad. I just couldn't afford to wash and ruin it, before I got the chance to show it to you guys."

"What's so important about it?" Kimberly asked, while holding her nose.

"Well, it's kind of complicated to tell…"

"The only thing that's complicated about it is that funky smell. Can you, like, put someplace where I can't smell it, while we talk about it?"

"Sure, but where?"

Kimberly pointed to the first thing she saw, which was the trunk that was sitting near the foot of Diana Zeddemore's bed. Meagan placed the odorous cardboard illustration inside it, and after closing the lid, it seemed like the object had never been there. Venkman took a deep breath of the somewhat fresh air of the room and smiled. "Never thought I'd be so happy to smell cigarette smoke and asbestos."

"The reason it's so important to me is that I've finally got concrete evidence of _it_."

"And what's 'it'?"

Meagan cautiously looked left and right, before she answered, "The monster in my closet."

"Ohhhh," said Kimberly, in mocked understanding, "The, uh, monster in your closet, eh?"

"You don't believe me either, do you?"

"No, no. I do. I'm a Ghostbuster, remember? Ready to _believe_ you?"

"But you sound like you don't."

Venkman chuckled. "That's how I always sound, kiddo. It's, uh, part of who I am." She guided Meagan over to her bed to sit down with her, as they continued their conversation. "Now…tell me more about this 'closet monster'."

Meagan hesitated for a second, unsure of just how much of what she told would Dr. Venkman believe. But if she said that she believed her, then all she could've done was take her word for it. "Well…one night, after Miss Zeddemore and Dr. Stantz came over to check out my problem, he peeked out from there and said how he enjoyed eating the leftover food."

"Wait a minute," Kimberly interjected, "you keep leftover food in your closet space?"

A perplexed look registered on Meagan's face when she said, "Yeah."

And after a long pause, Kimberly responded, "Please continue."

"Well…after that, I didn't see him again, until about a year later…around the time of my eighteenth birthday…"

**September 2006**

It was twenty minutes past midnight. Meagan was having two slices of pepperoni pizza left over from her party a couple of weeks ago—a lot left over, considering it was only her and her parents who were at the so-called "party." The rest of it was placed in her closet, with three fans placed around it to increase the delicious smell in whatever direction that one-eyed monster came from. Sitting on her bed and looking towards the half-opened closet door, she waited intently on the arrival of her little "friend."

She was just down to her second slice, when she heard some munching noises from the closet. Putting down the slice of pizza, she went to the closet door and opened it the rest of the way, unveiling the _two_ monsters that were inside: a tall brown one with small horns and a small green one with no legs, mop-like hair, and braces. Both were wearing blue hardhats that had an unusual insignia printed on them, and they seemed to be _teenage_ monsters.

"Oh, no! We've been spotted!" The small green monster exclaimed.

"Quick! Close the door!" The tall brown monster suggested. "Maybe she didn't see us!"

And, following the command of his companion, the small green monster reached over to the doorknob and quickly shut the door closed. However, Meagan immediately opened it, hoping the monsters would still be there. Fortunately, they were, having their hands over their heads and their eyes tightly shut, pretending as if they were not there.

"I can still see you guys," Meagan informed them.

Slowly, the two young monsters opened their eyes and realized that they were still inside the closet, with the box of fresh pepperoni pizza still sitting in between them. The tall brown monster then complained to the small green one, "I told ya we shouldn't have used the door, during shredding hours!"

"But I was _so_ hungry!" The small green monster pleaded his case. "And Mister Wazowski said this was the best closet to get lunch."

Meagan reacted to the name the monster uttered with much interest. "Mister Wazowski? Is that the little green one-eyed monster I saw in here last year?"

The two monsters exchanged a brief, stunned glance, before turning to Meagan and asking in unison, "You know Mike Wazowski?"

"I sort of do." Meagan answered. "He came by here one night, ate a Big Mac left over from several months ago, and gave his compliments before vanishing." She then mustered the courage to ask them, "Uh, w-where is it that you guys go to, once you've…um…scare people?"

With that question, the two monsters became increasingly stunned to the point that they screamed in terror. Meagan jumped in surprise from this, nearly tripping over some of the cluttered items on her floor. The two monsters in her closet began to scurry away, tossing some of the things in there (from the pizza box to a busted _Playstation 2_ game system) at the confused Meagan.

"W-Wait! Don't be scared!" She told them. "I won't hurt you!"

"She knows too much of our secrets!" The small green monster cried.

"This is why we never scare people over the age of thirteen! Too curious about things they don't understand!!!" The tall brown one shouted.

While dodging all the items being thrown at her, Meagan noticed a white light emerging from within her closet. She never noticed it before, when these creatures were in the confines of her personal area, possibly due in part to the huge cluttered mess that blocked it. There wasn't much of an assumption needed for her to realize that this white light had to be the portal to their world on the other side of the closet.

She knew this would be the one and only opportunity to see where exactly did these monsters came from and how they were able to perform their disappearing act so flawlessly. While she watched the two current monsters begin to make their exit through the light, she dashed towards her closet and practically dived right into it, allowing herself to be engulfed by the light. She felt a funky, tingling sensation come across her body, as everything went completely white.

* * *

Meagan half-expected to fall comfortably onto a pile of dirty clothes, doubting that she even made it through the beacon of light. However, when she felt herself hit a hard surface, there was no longer any doubt in her mind. She made it to her destination, following the two teenage monsters. The familiar aroma of her bedroom, from the corn chips to the perfume she often tried to cover it up with, was no longer moving through her nostrils. Instead, there was still a scent of corn chips (definitely a popular snack treat), yet it was accompanied by that of coffee, wood, and fur.

Her eyes had been closed during the journey between her room and whatever she ended up in, and she finally opened them to see that she was lying in some type of factory with strange machines, a series of skylights that displayed the starry night sky outside, and a large two-way window that showed a control room. It wasn't exactly what she expected it to be—a magical land of pixies and mermaids (in other words, Neverland). This looked like her world, only twice as blue collar.

All of the sudden she heard the sound of a buzz saw, shredding what seemed like wood to her ears. The scent of sawdust entered her nostrils, and she turned her head to see the two monsters shredding what appeared to have been her closet door…or an exact duplicate of it.

"Never again will we use this door!" The tall brown monster declared.

"But what if Mister Wazowski asks any questions?" His friend inquired.

"Then we keep our mouths absolutely shut and pretend like he didn't say _anything_!"

As the upper half of Meagan's closet door were shredded into a mixture of dust and tiny fragments of itself, the two monsters dusted off their scaly hands and turned to exit the room. But they quickly realized that Meagan was in the room with them and went back to freaking out, just as before. Meagan stood up and once again tried to calm them down, while they were screaming their lungs out over her presence there. It amazed her a little that these monsters found _her_ frightening as it, in her understanding, should've been the other way around.

Curiously, she asked them, "Why are you guys so scared of me?"

"Because you're human!" The tall brown monster remarked.

"And you know all about _Monsters, Inc._, without the proper authorization procedure!" The small green one added.

Meagan pondered over the company name, with a small grin crept across her face. "_Monsters, Inc._?"

_BLAM!!!_

She suddenly felt a hard object come over the back of her head and instantly became dazed, her legs turning wobbly and the world around her getting blurry. Falling back down to the floor, she began to slip into unconsciousness. A purple, lizard-shaped figure loomed over her, holding an object that she could only assume was what it attacked her with—a four-foot long, yellow canister.

The purple lizard turned to the two monsters in the room and said in a snake-like voice, "You two didn't see a thing, right?"

"Duh, um…R-Right, Mister Randall, s-sir." One of them responded.

"Well? Get out of here!!" Randall sinisterly demanded, and the two monsters didn't hesitate to carry it out, leaving the area immediately. The lizard then focused his attention on Meagan, as things began to fade to black before her very eyes. The last thing she heard was Randall saying, "Let's have some fun, shall we?"

To Be Continued…


	8. Story 8

"_Keep It In The Closet"_

_(Part Two: "…Somebody's Watching Me!")_

When Meagan regained consciousness, she had a massive headache from the blow to the head she received. And as much as she wanted to check her head for any bumps or signs of bleeding, she soon realized that her hands had been shackled to a bar locked right in front of a metallic chair that she had been placed in. Looking up to see where she was, her eyes met with the barrel of some type of large gun that was pointed within a few inches of her mouth.

"Go ahead…scream," said a voice that sounded very close yet Meagan couldn't see whom it came from. "It'll make things plenty easier."

"W-Who are you?" Meagan inquired. "W-What's going…?"

Then, out of nowhere, a chameleon-like creature manifested right in front of her very eyes. It seemed to have been the same purple lizard that knocked her out earlier. There were four arms and two legs on him, with bulbous green eyes and three tentacles protruding from in between them to the center of his head.

"You've got a lotta nerve comin' into our world like this, _human_." He sneered at her. "We monsters don't take kindly to any strangers like you. We like to keep a nice, decent balance between the two worlds. And now that your door's been shredded, you're practically stuck here, aren't ya?"

Meagan just stared at the eerily intimidating monster, uncertain if he was asking a rhetorical question or not.

"Not in a talkative mood, eh? Well, no matter. Because in a matter of seconds, you won't even be able to whistle…not with the ol' Scream Extractor here." He petted the large gun in front of her with a grin, right before he left her side and went to a set of controls nearby.

After turning a knob and flipping a few switches, the large gun was activated. Meagan shut her eyes tight, believing the machine would fire some kind of laser that would blow her to bits. However, it seemed to have done the complete opposite, as she felt her lips being sucked into the barrel. At first she didn't think it would be that huge of a deal, considering how often she used to play around with her parents' vacuum cleaner.

Unfortunately, this machine wasn't like any vacuum she had ever been around before. Its suction power was so extreme that she literally felt her whole face being sucked right off her skull, even knocking off her glasses in the process. Her lips went deep into the barrel, and she sensed her tongue starting to stick out from her mouth, which went numb in just a mere second.

Meagan was just on the verge of having the air sucked right out of her lungs, before someone came into the room and cried, "Randall! Mister Waternoose! He's coming!"

"What?!" Randall exclaimed in alarm, right before he shut down the machine and left Meagan's mouth to be unplugged from the barrel. Her head fell back and she gasped for air, with her tongue dangling out from the left side of her mouth. Without her glasses on, everything appeared blurry; but after what just occurred, it seemed more so than usual. She heard Randall say to his visitor, "Are you sure it's him and not just some _other_ six-legged Crustacean?!"

"I'm absolutely positive. I just saw him coming down the hall. He's headed right into the locker room."

Randall growled in a mixture of frustration and anger, rubbing his eyes with his pudgy fingers, while staring at Meagan. "Alright! Take care of the kid, while I go and distract him!" And right before he left the room, he sinisterly added, "And, Fungus…_don't_ mess this up!" He vanished from sight and supposedly departed from the area, leaving the visitor named Fungus alone with Meagan.

"Why do I always get myself caught into these situations?" Fungus said to himself, as he went over to the controls of the Scream Extractor.

Meagan's eyes darted towards him, and all that she could make out of his features (through her blurred vision) was that he was short and red. Although she guessed that she was the prisoner of these monsters, she hoped they would at least accept one request from her. "M…Mu…Muh gla…Muh glass…es…," she weakly uttered through her numbed mouth, feeling her own saliva trickling off her tongue.

Fungus heard her slurred speech and couldn't quite understand what she was telling him. "I'm sorry. What?"

"Muh glasses," she spat out (quite literally), pointing to where her glasses laid on the floor.

When Fungus finally spotted them, he dimwittedly exclaimed, "Oh! Of course!" He dashed over to the spot and picked them up, gladly placing them back over Meagan's eyes. "I can actually relate to your problem…despite the number of eyes." Her eyes instantly came into focus, once the glasses were back on, and she noticed how Fungus wasn't as intimidating as Randall was in appearance. He was a small monster with three eyes—hidden behind glasses that had the same number of lenses—and legs similar to those of a chicken.

Yet that wasn't all Meagan noticed, once regaining her sight…

Right behind Fungus were the same two monsters that she encountered in her room, one of which was holding the same yellow canister that Randall knocked her out with. The other one, having quite the nervous expression on his face, took off Fungus's hardhat and exposed his round, bald head.

"Huh?" Fungus uttered, feeling the chilly draft coming over his scalp.

That was when the tall brown monster belted Fungus over the head with the yellow canister, knocking him out immediately. Meagan looked on in surprise as Fungus went down, wondering just whose side this pair of monsters were on—that was, if they even had sides. But she didn't bother pondering over it much longer, as she was just thankful that her life had been spared from this "Scream Extractor" thingamajig.

"Oh, we are gonna get _so_ fired for this!" The small green monster cried.

Meagan smiled, although through the numbness it was hard for her to tell if she was or not. "Tanks youtuhs!"

The two monsters exchanged a look of confusion, after Meagan had given what they could only guess was her sincere gratitude. "Uh…you're welcome?" The tall brown monster remarked, while the green one began unshackling Meagan.

"What're we gonna do with her, Needleman?" The green monster inquired.

Needleman rubbed the back of his neck, looking very uncertain. "Why are you asking me?! It was your idea to follow Fungus here in the first place!"

"Because I knew we couldn't just let Randall have Mister Waternoose find out that we accidentally brought a human into Monstropolis! We could seriously lose our jobs for that, man!"

"Well, we gotta do _something_, Smitty!"

The two monsters started looking around the room, which they had never seen before in all their years of working at _Monsters, Inc._ Needleman spotted a nearby locker that had four sets of lab coats and three hardhats—one that looked large enough to fit the head of a huge monster. And right next to it was five paint cans, containing different colors. He looked between the coats, the paint cans, and the canisters that crowded fifty percent of the room, an idea generating in his mind.

"I've got it!!"

* * *

An hour later, there was no longer any sign of Needleman, Smitty, or Meagan in the room. The only one left was Fungus, who was still sprawled out across the floor, totally unconscious. There were eight canisters missing from the Scream Extractor machine, all of the lab coats had been removed from the locker (as well as the large hardhat that was inside, leaving behind the two that were already in there), and a huge mess of paint around it.

Randall had finally arrived in the room to see all that had been missing, including the human girl. When he noticed Fungus lying on the floor unconscious, a furious look appeared on his face, and he began to growl. "Creatins!!" He exclaimed, without even realizing the way he mispronounced the word "cretins," just as he vanished from the room.

* * *

Several eyes, especially those that had more than one of them, stared in awe and disbelief over the seven-foot, multicolored monster that strode down the halls of the building, with a head that had been completely obscured by an oversized hardhat. It had eight arms draped over both sides of its tall, lanky body and was apparently missing a set of feet, as they were also obscured by its bulbous body. This monster, whatever race it could've been, was nothing that any of the employees at _Monsters, Inc._ had ever seen before and didn't dare make contact with it. The only two that seemed to have enough guts to were Needleman and Smitty, whom actually knew the truth behind its appearance.

The monster was, in actuality, Meagan Tully in a somewhat convincing disguise set up by Needleman and Smitty. She walked on a collection of canisters strewn together to function like stilts, leaving her to do her best to balance herself out on the way back to the workroom, and she wore lab coats that were sewed together and splashed with different colors of paint. Between her wild costume and the numbness that continued to slur her speech, she made a very believable monster.

Across the hall, other monsters were gathered and murmuring amongst themselves over the new monster in the company. Mike Wazowski and his large, furry blue friend, James P. Sullivan (also called "Sulley" to his friends), happened to have passed by these monsters as they were headed to the workroom. One of them turned to Sulley and said, "Looks like there's a new top scarer in your presence, Sulley!"

Mike and Sulley looked at the monster in confusion, before Mike chuckled and asked, "What're you knuckleheads talkin' about?"

The monster pointed behind Mike and Sulley, and the two turned to see the new recruit that was being escorted by Needleman and Smitty down the hall. Seeing the humungous size of the monster, which seemed to have rivaled Sulley's, made Mike Wazowski's single eye widen in total disbelief. He knew that with a tall, intimidating monster such as that, there would be no doubt in it taking over Sulley's spot as "top scarer."

Sulley, on the other hand, didn't seem quite so challenged by the tall monster's appearance. "He doesn't look like such a bad guy. Look, he's even made friends with Needleman and Smitty, and they're pretty stand-up guys."

"Are you nuts?!" Mike shouted to Sulley. "This schmutz is a threat to your all-time record! I mean, look at him! He's the size of a dump truck!"

Sulley rolled his eyes in aggravation. "Ugh, here we go again. Don't you think you're being a little paranoid?"

"In the line of work we're in, paranoia is a safeguard, my friend." He then grabbed Sulley by the hand and started pulling him further down the hall. "C'mon! We've gotta get you geared up for another night of scaring, buddy."

Sulley rubbed his eyes with great frustration, as he allowed himself to be yanked ahead by Mike. "This is one of the reasons why I could never stand taking a night shift."

It took only a moment for Mike, Sulley, and most other monsters working at the factory that evening to reach the workroom, where Henry J. Waternoose (the CEO of _Monsters, Inc._) was continuing his inspection. When Needleman and Smitty arrived there with the disguised Meagan, they panicked, wondering just how they were going to be able to get further with their plan without getting caught by Waternoose. Unfortunately, as they passed through the line of monsters getting prepared for their late night scares, it turned out that Waternoose was the least of their worries, with Randall Boggs amongst the group. He appeared to be still searching for Meagan, heavily intent while doing so.

"M-Maybe we should just turn back." Smitty suggested.

"Yeah, good idea." Needleman acknowledged.

The two turned, along with Meagan, to face the exit of the workroom, which seemed like miles away from them. When they tried to get there before anyone could've spotted them, they heard the brisk, powerful voice of Mr. Waternoose from behind as he said, "Gentlemen! Is it my imagination or do we have a new scarer in our midst this evening?"

Needleman and Smitty exchanged a look of concern for a brief moment, and then they turned to face Mr. Waternoose, masking their looks of concern with a mix of confidence and nervousness. "Uh, why…certainly, M-Mister Waternoose," said Needleman, through a somewhat shaky voice. "We thought we'd assist him on his first day."

"I see," said Waternoose, with a nod. "What is his name?"

"His…name?" Smitty repeated, looking nervously towards Needleman, who looked up to Meagan, seeing past her huge hardhat at the worried set of eyes she had.

From within the helmet, she numbly stated, "Meaguh Trulle!"

Neither Needleman nor Smitty could decipher what she just stated, leaving it up to imagination to give their best guess to Waternoose. "Uh…his name is…Megatron!"

"Megatron?!" Waternoose reacted in bewilderment.

Even Meagan wondered where that assumption came from, as it was far from what she tried to tell the two monsters.

"Um, yeah…his name is Megatron," affirmed Smitty, unsure if their boss would believe in such a bizarre name. (But, then again, Needleman and Smitty were over the scale of weird themselves.)

Waternoose cleared his throat and said, "Well…just don't stand there! Set Mister, uh, Megatron up with a door." The two monsters saluted military style to their boss (for no apparent reason), as he crawled his way past them and headed to the control room upstairs for observation. Once he was gone, they sighed in relief and guided Meagan back across the work floor to set her up with a door that would take her back to the human world where she belonged—although there was a chance it would not have been in the same place she arrived from.

While doing so, they were being observed closely by the still paranoid Mike Wazowski…as well as a heavily suspicious Randall Boggs, who began taking notice the gigantic "monster" in the room.

To Be Continued…


	9. Story 9

"Keep It In The Closet"

(Part Three: "Or Is It Just A Dream?")

At four o'clock in the morning, all boys and girls were sound asleep in the small suburban neighborhood within Baltimore, Maryland known as Trufull Heights. However, in one house owned by a decent, middle-class African American family, there came a rattling inside the closet of eight-year-old Damon, the only son of the couple who owned the house. When he heard the rattling, he was awaken from his peaceful slumber and focused on his closet door, clearly seeing it shift as if someone was trying to get out.

Recently, Damon acquired a fear of monsters in the closet—something most children his age were known to have. Even though his parents convinced him that there was nothing to fear, random noises in his room during the middle of the night still made him uneasy. And this particular noise had been accompanied by visible movement, noting that there was actually something in his closet.

Damon slowly crawled out of bed and reached under it, pulling out a baseball bat that was normally used for practice with his dad, but would be handled for different purposes that moment. Making his way over to the rattling closet, he kept his baseball bat held high, while maintaining a batting stance. _I'm gonna kick this monster's butt once and for all_, the eight-year-old bravely thought to himself.

When the closet door finally opened (as he expected it to), he watched as the monster crept out from the closet and poked its bulbous, blue head past the door. As soon as Damon saw it, he let out a tiny shriek and swung his baseball bat fast and hard over the monster's head. The bat practically broke on impact, and the monster's "head" came clear off. Damon stared at both the bat and the head, surprised by his own strength. But as he looked up at the monster, he expected to see its body now missing a head; but instead, he noticed how it seemed to have "grown" another one in the shape of a human teenage girl.

Unbeknownst to the eight-year-old, the monster was _actually_ just that, as Meagan Tully was disguised as one to get past the _real_ monsters at _Monsters, Inc._ in order to return to her world. But after what just happened, she realized how bad of an idea that was, especially as she felt another hard object connect with her body—this time hitting her stomach.

"You're goin' down, monster!!" Damon exclaimed, as he held his _Xbox 360_ game system high over his head.

Meagan tried to raise her hand in protest of the little boy's fierce attacks over her. Unfortunately, her hand was deep within one of the sleeves of her lab coat, which was in reality multiple coats stitched together, and was therefore completely obscured by the fabric. "No, wath! Mold mup!" She tried to verbally convince the kid that she meant no harm; but with a numbed mouth from that "Scream Extractor" machine, that was a little hard to do. Luckily for that numbness, she barely felt Damon's game system as it smashed right across her face.

As Meagan collapsed to the floor, Damon screamed over her, "Wolverines!" That was right before he remembered his copy of _Marvel Ultimate Alliance_ was still in the game system, which he ejected as soon as he commenced in beating Meagan.

* * *

Needleman and Smitty were just about ready to remove the door they set up for their human "friend," after she went through it, thinking that their troubles were finally all behind them. That was when Randall Boggs appeared out of nowhere near them, scaring the wits out of both of them.

"Uh, duh-duh…hi there, Mister Randall!" Smitty stammered.

"W-What brings you here at our, uh, station?" Needleman nervously inquired.

Randall seemed very nonchalant as he addressed the two monsters. "Just wanna check and see how the 'new guy' is holdin' up. It's not every day I get to say 'Hello' to the fresh meat around here." He got in between Needleman and Smitty, putting all four of his arms tightly around them. "Speakin' of which, you fellas wouldn't to have seen our little 'visitor' around here, have ya?"

Needleman and Smitty exchanged a brief cautious glance, and then Needleman uttered, "Um, we haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about, Mister Randall."

The grip Randall's arms had around them tightened, nearly choking the life out of them. "You dimwits know very well what I'm talking about! You were standin' right there when I bashed her skull in! Now where is she?!"

"Honest, Mister Randall," said the quivering Smitty, "you asked if we didn't see any thing, and we _didn't_."

Randall got right into Smitty's face and glared heavily into his eyes. "Are you _trying_ to make me angry right now?"

As soon as Smitty could have given some type of response to Randall's presumably rhetorical question, their discussion had been interrupted by Mike Wazowski, who showed up and asked, "Well, how is the newbie doing on his first gig, boys?"

The moment Wazowski appeared near the group, Randall camouflaged himself into nothingness, making it seemed as if he were never there. Needleman and Smitty were so focused on Mike that they barely even realized this. "Uh…h-he's doing great, Mister Wazowski," answered Smitty.

"Um, yeah…still scarin' up a storm in there." Needleman added.

Even through Mike's large green eye, it was bluntly obvious that he wasn't buying into the two monsters' lie. Just to humor them, he mockingly made them believe he bought into it. "Oh, yeah? That's remarkable, guys. So, uh, what 'Scare Total' would you say he's got right now?"

Needleman and Smitty hadn't once looked at the chart to see what the total of their friend "Megatron" was currently on, considering she was a fake _Monsters, Inc._ employee and was only working through one door. Curiously, they looked behind them to glance at the chart and felt a little sheepish to find out that "Megatron" was dead last with a score of "0".

Mike laughed hysterically as he told them, "Ya gonna have to do a heck of a lot better if you're gonna beat Sulley's record, boys!"

They watched as Wazowski began to walk away, wondering if they should have taken that chance to tell him about the girl who owned the door he so religiously enjoyed going through to have lunch. Unfortunately, they had to risk Randall being near them, as they blurted out their secret just after admitting they didn't know anything in front of him.

However, their problem seemed to have solved itself, as soon as the door they set up opened and Meagan clambered out. Her costume had been torn to shreds and she looked very battered and bruised, while crawling out from the closet door. Once she was out safely, she screamed to Needleman and Smitty (through clear speech), "Close it! Close it! Close it!!!"

Needleman immediately shut the door on Meagan's command. Soon after he did was when he and Smitty realized that Meagan's true identity had been exposed to all of the monsters in the room—and even Mister Waternoose in the control room.

"A human? Here?!?!" He exclaimed, before giving a direct order to one of the controllers. "Sound the emergency alarm…NOW!"

The controller pressed the large red button to sound the alarm, and all of the monsters down on the work floor stopped their activities, focusing on the human girl near Needleman and Smitty, who were wishing they could vanish like Randall right about then. Nearby, Mike and Sulley looked on the incident with mixed reactions of curiosity and fear, as a grown human girl had entered their vicinity. But it wasn't any random girl to Mike—it was the same one he met a year ago, during his lunch break.

"Oh, no," he muttered.

All of the sudden, a barrage of monsters clad in rubber yellow hazmat-type suits jumped in through the skylights, arriving from a large collection of helicopters circling around the _Monsters, Inc._ complex and shining lights all throughout. They surrounded the spot where Meagan was sitting, alarming her and everyone else in the room. Held in each of their multiple hands were bizarre-looking devices that almost looked like weapons to Meagan.

"Just relax, miss," one of them told her, in a somewhat electronic, static voice. "We are trained professionals and will have you back to wherever you came from in no time."

Meagan, already excited enough for one evening, reached down to her feet and removed the remaining canister that had been strapped to her feet. She stood up and welded the canister over her head in a threatening manner, causing all of the hazmat-suited monsters to back away from her. "I am _not_ in the mood for this right now! All I want is a door that'll take me straight back to New York City! Is that so much to ask?"

Everyone in the room was deathly quiet, as they just blankly stared at her, obviously frightened by her presence. One of the monsters then broke the silence by answering Meagan's request. "Uh…I've got a door over here going to New York City."

Right at the second the monster uttered "New," Meagan dashed over to where the monster and the door were. She passed right by Mike Wazowski on the way, giving a quick familiar glance that he gave in return. Neither of them said a word to each other, letting the stunned expressions on their faces speak for themselves.

When Meagan finally reached the door, she saw how old-fashioned it looked and seemed to have characteristics similar to a broom closet door. It was colored in a dark shade of brown and made out of hardwood, with a bronze-plated doorknob. It definitely wasn't the door to a child's bedroom—a possible mistake on the monster's behalf. But she would've cared less, considering how much she wanted out of that place called "Monstropolis."

Opening the door, she went inside the unknown closet and returned back to her own realm within New York City, never again hearing from any of the monsters she met that night.

**Present Day**

While listening to Meagan's tale, Kimberly dressed herself in her Ghostbuster uniform, preparing herself to join Alexis in hunting down Slimer and the Lonesome Ghosts to wherever it was that they disappeared to. Much of what the 22-year-old Junior Ghostbuster recruit told her was hard enough to swallow, and at many times during her story, she wanted to just come out and admit that she lied and didn't believe a word of it. But something in her sparked some interest, as it usually had with the people they met in their line of work, and she kept herself intrigued long enough for Tully to finish.

"And once I made it into the closet, I snuck my way out of the place it belonged to and went back home." Meagan concluded. "Since then, I've never bothered trying to get back into Monstropolis, mainly because my doorway there had been destroyed."

Venkman nodded. "I see. And, uh, what did you want _us_ to do about it?"

"Well, there's obviously an existing line between us and those monsters, one of which tried to kill me. You've got to stop them, before…I don't know…they take over our planet or something!"

"The only thing I've got to do is find that little spud who gooped me for the third time in a row," remarked Kimberly, as she started looking around her bed, "right after I find my boots."

Meagan sighed in despair, having told her whole secret to a nonbeliever. As she watched Dr. Venkman move over to the nearest closet in the room, she suddenly recognized the door to it from that of the one she depicted in her story. It was then that she realized the door that served as her exit from Monstropolis was confined within the firehouse headquarters of the Ghostbusters.

"Oh, my god!" She gleefully cried.

Kimberly spun around in surprise at the moment the young woman cheered. "What? Did you find my boots? I know they can't smell _that_ bad."

"No," said Meagan, as she went to the door. "This is it! This is how I was able to leave Monstropolis! It was this door that led me out!"

"Okay, now you're just blowin' smoke out of your butt, kiddo. Say if you were _actually_ to walk out this door, don't you think any of us would've _seen_ you doing it?"

"The people in the house I walked into were fast asleep at the time. One of them was really snoring up an earthquake."

Kimberly's eyes darted towards the floor after that statement from Meagan, and she rubbed the back of her neck nervously. She had often been told from her cohorts that she had a rather horrible snoring problem, keeping them up most of the night.

_But how could this girl have known about it?_

Meagan opened the closet door and revealed all of its contents, from spare uniforms and equipment to a few cardboard boxes. Kimberly's boots were there, as well as a yellow canister similar to the one in Meagan's story. Meagan smiled upon seeing the canister, and she pulled it (along with Venkman's boots) out from the closet to show her.

"See? I wasn't lying, was I?"

Kimberly looked at the canister for a brief moment and then glared at Meagan, snatching her boots away from her. It wasn't often that she liked to be proven wrong, especially being the one with the degree in parapsychology. And if this weren't enough to blow her ego, the light shining from the closet apparently was. She and Meagan looked deep within it, seeing how there was an adjacent room past all of the closet's contents.

Venkman could barely believe what she was looking at, and she could hardly understand why Meagan handed her a Proton Pack from the closet all of the sudden. She looked at her and noticed the goofy smile on her face, which apparently came from the giddiness she felt of proving the disbelieving parapsychologist wrong. Shaking her head, Kimberly strapped on the Proton Pack and slipped on her boots, before she and Meagan Tully headed into the closet.

After the door had closed behind them, Alexis Embers walked into the room, expecting Kimberly to be there waiting for her. But once she realized that she was nowhere around, a look of anger registered on her face as she stormed out and headed downstairs alone (which she started to feel herself becoming, after learning the truth of her teammates' thoughts of her own recruitment).


	10. Story 10

"Always Look On The Bright Side of Life"

"This has without a doubt got to be the most bloody brilliant idea I've ever cooked up," said the _former_ agent of the Environmental Protection Agency, Louise Peck, as she stood across the street from the Ghostbusters' firehouse headquarters in her black suit and tie, her arms folded and a confident grin on her face.

Standing right next to her was a taller man with blue eyes, brown hair, and a goatee and went by the name of John Hardemeyer, the _former_ assistant to the mayor of New York City. Not only did he share a taste in suits with Louise; but he also shared a history with the Ghostbusters. Like her, he lost his job to them, due to their "supernatural" publicity stunts that he so determinedly attempted to exploit. Only when New York City turned out to be in _serious_ danger did his plans backfire on him.

And yet there they were—the two of them—standing across the street from the very business that had put them out of theirs, with one of the most confusing schemes ever. "So…let me get this straight…we're going to sign up for Kimberly Venkman's 'Junior Ghostbusters' program?"

"That's right, dear chap," confirmed the British blonde, with a smile and a nod. "If ya can't beat the darn blokes, then just _join_ them."

John shook his head at the idea. "Doesn't make sense to me, Lou. I mean, are they or are they not the same people that put you out of the E.P.A., five years ago?"

"Of course, they are! Made me look like a complete fool in front of the mayor. Venkman even had the nerve to call me…well…a certain name that I can't speak in public for personal reasons. But let's just say it'd sting a lot more, if I were a man!"

"So why are we joining up with the same business that we both tried and failed to shut down years prior?"

Louise placed her arm around John and pulled him in closer to her, whispering into his ear. As she had done so, a taxicab pulled in right near them, driven by a strange Muppet character that went by the name of Beauregard. His passengers were Kermit the Frog, Gonzo the Great, Fozzie Bear, Rizzo the Rat, and Pepe the King Prawn (whom all had been nervously clinging onto their seats during the entire road trip).

"Here we go, fellas," said the naïve taxicab driver. "Ghostbusters H.Q., just like I promised."

Kermit was practically quivering in his seat as he stammered, "Y-Y-Y-Yeah, Beau. J-J-J-Just like y-y-you'd p-p-promised." He then stuck out his shaky flipper, handing over their fee to Beauregard.

"If ya ever need me to drop you off anywhere, just give a holler."

"Oh, don't worry." Pepe uttered. "We'll be hollering plenties after getting into the cab, okay."

The five Muppets quickly exited the taxicab, before Beauregard wildly drove away from the city block, heading off to pick up another unfortunate victim of his madcap service. With Beau finally gone, Fozzie felt a lot more comfortable, especially as he looked across the street at the Ghostbusters' firehouse. "Wow! Can you guys believe we're going to be Ghostbusters? I've always dreamed of this, ever since we grew up in the nursery."

"Uh…I grew up in an aquarium owned by Jessica Biel, okay." Pepe contradicted.

"Oh…well, I was referring mostly to Kermit, Gonzo, and myself." Fozzie told the king prawn. "Back when we were just babies, we always imagined that we were Ghostbusters…or, uh, maybe something close to it."

Gonzo covered his face in embarrassment. "Argh! Fozzie!"

"What? What did I say?"

"Don't tell them that when we get in there," demanded the equally embarrassed Kermit. "That stuff's just too private to reveal."

"Well, I think it's rather cute," said a voice that came right behind them. They turned and saw Louise Peck with John Hardemeyer, both standing very tall over the pint-sized Muppets. "In fact, I believe if you shared that adorable little story with the Ghostbusters, they'd be more than welcome to accept you into their program."

Fozzie smiled. "You really think so?"

Hardemeyer scoffed over Peck's assertion. "You kiddin' me? They'd kick you guys to cur…" He was quickly cut short in his statement by Louise, who elbowed him in the gut, nearly cutting off his air. "I mean, sure they would. I can't see how they wouldn't."

Kermit looked up and down between the two strangers before them. His mouth gaped open in surprise, once he realized who they were. "Hey! You're Louise Peck from the Environmental Protection Agency…and you're John Hardemeyer, Mayor Ignatius's former assistant!"

"You people tried to shut down Ghostbusters!" Gonzo exclaimed.

"C'mon, guys. Let's get out of here." Kermit suggested.

"Yeah, tha air just suddenly got foul…and not in a _good_ way." Rizzo bantered.

The five Muppets were on the verge of walking away from Louise and John, until Louise spoke out in protest. "Wait…we want to make amends with the Ghostbusters for what we've done."

They looked cautiously over at the two black-suited figures, seeing the huge smiles coming across their faces. It was Kermit who then inquired, "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Listen, I got a ton of marshmallow goop rained down upon me, five years ago." Louise stated.

"And I got temporarily sucked into a huge wall of pink slime, coming out smelling like the funk of forty thousand years." John added.

"All because we didn't believe in what the Ghostbusters were trying to convince everyone at those times." Peck admittedly declared. "There are in fact supernatural forces entering our world. And we've both spent plenty of times reading up on demigods and sorcerers to figure out where they're all coming from. The only way to drive them away is to join in the same league as the Ghostbusters, fending off whatever threats come our way."

There seemed to be a lot of sincerity behind Louise Peck's words, if not much power in them. It was still awkward to see two of the Ghostbusters' worst nemeses offering their services to them. And it was even weirder, especially to the likes of one Gonzo the Great, to start wondering if these two were actually asking for _their_ help in this plan.

"So what do you want from us?" Kermit came out and asked.

Louise shared a quick, satisfied glance with Hardemeyer and then told the frog, "We want you to help put in a good word for us, when we walk in there with you."

"You mean _lie_ to them?!" Fozzie remarked.

"Yes!" John cried out.

"NO!" Louise immediately contradicted, slapping Hardemeyer over the back of his head while glaring at him. "We only ask that you be honest with them. Let 'em know that we just want to let bygones be bygones and restart things off on a good note."

Kermit hesitated with a response to Peck's request. And when he attempted to give one, Rizzo suddenly stepped in front of him and said, "Uno momento, por favor!"

"Ohh, excellent Spanish, Ritzo." Pepe complimented, as the Muppets huddled together within a few feet away from Louise and John, whispering amongst each other.

"We just can't trust them, Kermit." Fozzie said. "What if this is some plot of theirs to shut the Ghostbusters down again?"

"Yeah, like an inside job or somethin'." Rizzo presumed.

"I don't know. Maybe they _are_ trying to make good, ya know?" Gonzo stated. "Besides, it'd be cool to see that explosion again. I remember standing on the rooftop of the Chrysler Building and seeing all those cool purple strobes. It was like the Fourth of July in the middle of Thanksgiving!" He then noticed the awkward look that the other Muppets were giving him and sheepishly added, "But that's just me."

After rolling his eyes at Gonzo, Kermit remarked, "Look, guys…it's not really my call to make on this. It's the Ghostbusters who will have to decide whether they're in or not."

"But what about puttin' dat good word in for 'em?" Rizzo asked.

"Well, it's like Miss Peck said," answered Kermit, "we'll just be honest with the Ghostbusters and tell them that they want to make a truce."

Fozzie let out a deep sigh. "I just hope we don't end up ruining our chance to become Ghostbusters in this."

"Relax, Fozzie." Kermit said. "We're the Muppets…no one can turn us down from a great opportunity."

"Tell that to de Walt Disney Company, okay."

* * *

After what was an obvious hectic afternoon for Christina Melnitz, she was finally awarded with a nice, relaxing evening at her desk, as she was finally able to watch the season finale to _Lost_ on YouTube. With her feet propped up on her desk and leaning back pretty far in her chair, having her hands locked behind her head, she couldn't have felt more relaxed. A smile grew on her face, despite watching the intense drama displayed on her PC computer.

Unfortunately, that drama seemed to have leaked out into her personal life again, as she heard some brisk, heavy footsteps coming down the stairs near her. Popping out from her comfortable position, she watched as Alexis Embers solely came downstairs and approached her, with a look on fury registered on her face.

"Where's Dr. Venkman?" Christina asked.

"She bailed on me!" Alexis hastily replied. "I went upstairs to check and see if she was ready to go, and she wasn't even there!"

Christina was more puzzled than she was upset. "Wait…how could she just up and vanish like that? Unless she jumped out of the window and instantly learned how to fly, there's no way she could've left without us knowing."

"Well, I'm telling you straight up that she's gone," retorted Alexis, before she added in a brash tone, "and so is that ridiculous recruit…Meagan what's-her-face…for that matter."

Christina shook her head negatively at Alexis. "Her name's Meagan Tully. And I think you should start showing her a little respect, 'cause she might one day replace you."

"And I think we should start focusing on the problem at hand, 'cause I might end up having a migraine in a few seconds!!!"

Never before had Christina seen her so stressed like this. It seemed like only yesterday when she was the calm, quiet type. But since being added onto the Ghostbusters team, she had turned herself into quite the nervous wreck. Although it was understandable, considering how she was now left alone to deal with the situation of five escaped ghosts.

"Whoa!" They heard a voice come from the front entrance, which they soon realized came from Gonzo the Great, who was accompanied by fellow Muppets Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, Rizzo the Rat, and Pepe the King Prawn. He gawked in amazement at the huge, nasty hole where the door should've been and said, "They must've known we were coming to do _this_ for us."

Alexis sighed and rubbed her eyes in frustration at the sight of the visitors. "Oh, great. Just what we needed…_more_ fresh meat."

Ignoring Alexis's complaints, Christina stood up and shouted across the room at the possible new recruits, "May I help yo…?" But she stopped as soon as she noticed Louise Peck and John Hardemeyer following the Muppets on their way in. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened wide, looking extremely horrified. "Oh, crud!"

"What's wrong?" asked Alexis, seeing the look on her face.

Then, out of nowhere, Christina pulled her Proton Pack out from underneath her desk. But instead of strapping it on, she just detached the particle thrower from it and aimed directly at Louise and John. She seemed highly upset as she said to them, "You both have got five seconds to turn around and leave, before I blast your butts to kingdom come!!!"

Seeing how they were being threatened by a nuclear weapon, Louise and John instinctively lifted their hands in the air. It wasn't until Kermit stepped right in their path did their fate seemed to be sealed, as the frog declared, "They're with us! They're with us!"

Christina lowered the particle thrower and reacted in confusion, "What?!"

"They want to make amends for their actions in the past." Kermit said.

And again a confused Christina exclaimed, "_What_?!"

"What the heck's going on here?" Alexis asked, while staring at the two black-suited figures standing behind the Muppets. "Who're these people?"

"Remember those legal problems our company faced in the past?" Christina told her. "Well, these imbeciles are the reason for them!"

Alexis then began to stare at the two in the same way Christina had. "You mean that's the E.P.A. agent and Mayor Ignatius's assistant?"

"_Former_!!!" Peck and Hardemeyer both corrected.

"They finally realized that what you guys do here is for real and want to register for your Junior Ghostbusters program." Kermit stated.

And the moment Kermit told them this, Christina instantly declared, "No! No way! Nuh-uh! Not gonna happen! Not in a trillion years, man!"

Meanwhile, Alexis looked left and right between the two characters, an idea formulating in her mind. Since Kimberly Venkman decided it was best to leave her out to dry in the midst of this ghostly breakout, she thought it would be best to improvise in the situation. And who better to do it with than two of the Ghostbusters' most hated mortal enemies.

"Make you a deal," she suddenly said, "if you two can help me put away five ghosts who've escaped our Containment System, then we can give you a spot in our program."

Huge grins appeared on Louise and John's faces in reaction to this proposal. "Really?!?!"

Alexis nodded, just as she felt an intense slap come across her left arm. While rubbing it, she turned around to see who was responsible, only to meet with the angry eyes of Christina. "What's wrong with you, girl?" Melnitz asked her. "Did you _not_ remember what these idiots did to our business years ago?"

"Christy, just trust me on this." Alexis pleaded. "I think I'm finally going to put some use to this little program of Kimberly's."

Just as she had done before, Christina shook her head negatively at Embers, wondering just where her common sense had run off to. She only hoped that the still-inexperienced Ghostbuster knew what she was doing with these two dangers to society known as Louise Peck and John Hardemeyer.


	11. Story 11

"Call In The Replacements…Again!"

Diana had been driving the Ecto-1 for what seemed like hours through the streets of Manhattan, following the readings that Spengler was getting through the P.K.E., which was functioning as their personal G.P.S. for the time being. She gave the old car less credit than J.G. did, being able to last this long through the hours of driving, as opposed to her—someone who was beginning to show signs of sleep deprivation.

It surprised her to realize just how long she had actually been awake that day, not having slept since eight o'clock…last night! The hours of busting ghosts seemed to have multiplied, ever since they went back into business earlier that year. And as she sat there in the driver's side, fighting to keep her eyelids above her pupils, she thought back to the discussion she had with Stantz, whom ironically was sitting the same place as he was before.

_"Hey, Jay. You remember those stories in the Bible about the last days before the dead would rise from the grave?"_

_ "Sure, Dye. I can recall once reading Revelations 7:12 once. 'And I looked and he opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake. And the sun became as black as sackcloth, and the moon became as blood'."_

_ "'And the seas boiled and the skies fell'."_

_ "The 'Judgment Day' prophecy. Well, every ancient religion has its own myth about the end of the world, Dye."_

_ "Myth?! Has it ever occurred to you that the reason we've been busting both ghosts and our butts so much is that the dead have in fact been rising from the grave, just like in Revelations?"_

"Diana!!" She snapped out from her flashback, as soon as she heard the voice of Sean Spengler, who wasn't present at the time of their discussion. "Pull the car over here."

As she did what he told her, she looked around at the empty neighborhood they were in and how remarkably familiar it was. There were antique stores, diners, and worn-out, abandoned buildings all around. It was without a doubt one of the poorest neighborhoods she had been through…"Fifth Avenue" was what the folks of New York referred it as. And it was the same area where the Ghostbusters discovered a river of pink slime under the city.

J.G. looked around the neighborhood himself and almost got nostalgic. "You have got to be kidding me! _This_ is where the source is?!"

Spengler glanced closely at the P.K.E., checking the readings carefully. He then nodded his head and said, "It most certainly is."

"Sean, I know it's been almost a couple of years since we've stepped foot on this spot, but we've been ordered by the city to _never_ step foot on here again!" Stantz remarked. "If they find the three of us here, no doubt will they haul our butts off back to jail!"

"And, no offense, but I'd rather spend my Fourth of July holiday in someplace other than sing-sing." Diana added.

Sean shook his head negatively. "Doesn't matter what the city tells us to do. If we're facing another massive threat, then we'll have to do whatever's necessary to fight it off, before it gets worse." With that said, he climbed out of the Ecto-1 and began scanning the sidewalk.

Watching the scientist at work (and obviously breaking the law at the same time), J.G. sighed and told Zeddemore, "He's got a point, ya know."

"I know he does, and that's the problem," said a disgruntled Diana, while getting out of the car with J.G.

They watched Spengler as he scanned towards the buildings in the area, the P.K.E. whining and crackling electronically in his hand. When he didn't get much reading from the buildings and the sidewalk, he aimed it near the street, where it began to pick up mighty big results. The P.K.E. vibrated wildly in Sean's hand, as he stood right in the middle of the street.

"This is the exact spot…unfortunately." He revealed to his cohorts.

J.G.'s face instantly went to the palm of his hand, while Diana appeared just as disapproving of this news. "You mean we're gonna have to dig _another_ hole here?" she inquired in frustration.

Spengler took a few more scans on the P.K.E. before he answered her. "It seems we won't have to. The readings I'm getting are nowhere as deep as they were from the River of Slime. They're about the same level as the subway tunnels."

"So our problem's in the subway tunnel?" Stantz uttered. "Well, that lowers the level of measures we'd have to take in investigating it. All we've just got to do is visit the nearest transit, while ordering for a temporal shutdown."

"I don't think that'll be so much of a problem, Jay." Sean stated, while holstering the P.K.E. to his utility belt. "My readings indicate this being the same spot where a disturbance occurred late last year, around the same time of our encounter with Maleficent, leading to the tunnel being off limits."

Diana raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Disturbance? What kind?"

"They did not say." Sean revealed. "All they reported were missing construction workers and pieces of metal debris from an explosion that occurred down there. However, one source claimed of the sound of moaning and the smell of brimstone, while sensing intense heat seeping through the tunnel."

"Could they have unlocked some type of gateway to hell?" J.G. questioned.

"That's what we're going to find out," said Spengler, as he made his way back to the Ecto-1, followed by Zeddemore and Stantz.

The three paranormal investigators were just about to get into the vehicle, until they heard the distant sound of two children frantically crying out to them. "Ghostbusters! Ghostbusters! Ghostbusters!" Turning around to look behind them, they noticed two redheaded children (a young boy and an older girl) running right towards them with looks of horror masked on their faces. The color on their faces was pure white in high contrast to their colorful outfits.

Diana, having an experience with children this age in her past, ran up to them while wondering why they were in this part of the city so late at night, without parental supervision. When she was within a few feet from them, she knelt down and let them come to her as she asked, "What in the world are you kids doing here this time of night? Where are your parents?"

"At home," the boy sarcastically replied. "Where else would they be?"

"Todd, show some respect," the girl politely said. "These are the Ghostbusters. They're going to help us from…whatever it was we just saw."

"Well, I hope so, Riley!" Todd exclaimed. "We called them like fifty times already! The second before that _thing_ showed up, we almost had _Fleemco_ replace them with two guys and a gorilla!"

Diana rolled her eyes at the idea, just as J.G. and Sean walked their way into the conversation. "What 'thing' did you kids see?" J.G. asked them.

"I didn't think he could _actually_ exist out of the work of Washington Irving, and believe me when I say that I wish it was just my imagination gone wild!" Riley exclaimed, still sounding very frantic. "But I promise on a steed of phonies that I saw the Headless Horseman!"

J.G., Diana, and Sean exchanged some very puzzled looks. "You kids _are_ referring to the 'Sleepy Hollow' antagonist, right?" Sean curiously questioned.

"Do you know any _other_ Headless Horsemen out there?!" Todd bantered. "C'mon, dude! Even I've seen the Disney cartoon a billion times by now!"

"Don't you guys believe us?!" Riley shouted, nearly on the verge of tears.

Diana gently grabbed her by the arms and calmly told her, "Sweetie, relax. We believe what you're saying. We're the Ghostbusters…we'll believe just about everything people alert us about."

"Then why are you guys lookin' at us like we're on a sugar rush or somethin'?" Todd angrily inquired.

The three Ghostbusters were barely paying much attention to how they were looking at the two children. Their minds were so focused on the fact that one of the greatest myths they had ever dreamed of encountering was there in the city. But the only problem was that the Headless Horseman was an England-based apparition. And if it were there in Manhattan, then it had to be some sort of trick.

Meanwhile, Todd was growing tired of the Ghostbusters' disbelieving attitude—a trait often displayed to them by adults. "Ya see, Riley? They don't believe us! We're better off callin' _Fleemco_ and getting some _real_ help to show up! Because these guys are just big pho…"

_BBBBBBBBBBBUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!_

It was the darkest, most horrifying neigh that they all had ever heard, and it came from directly near them. All heads turned in the direction that it came, and they were met with the terrifying sight of a dark, cloaked figure riding on a horse with hair and skin that were as black as night and eyes that were as red as blood, breathing fire and smoke. The rider was headless, just as the horseman in English mythology; and in his hand was a massive, flaming pumpkin.

J.G., Diana, and Sean each blinked repeatedly to ensure they were not seeing things. And when it turned out that they weren't, they slowly edged towards the Ectomobile, with Todd and Riley at their side. The Headless Horseman, as if sensing their movement, reared his demonic horse and began advancing towards them.

"MOVE!!!" J.G. yelled, although they were already climbing into the Ectomobile, before he even told them to.

Diana got back into the driver's seat and started up the car, screeching their way out of Fifth Avenue, while the Headless Horseman continued chasing after them. She was thankful that the streets were so empty in that neighborhood, as they were being chased by this dangerous foe. Displaying some skillful driving techniques, Zeddemore was able to put a great distance between them and the Horseman.

J.G. and the others looked behind to see the Horseman vanish in a large fog that was created through steam emitting from a nearby grating. Stantz smiled as he turned to Diana and said, "Nice move! He long behind us now!"

Diana smiled herself, feeling very relieved of getting the Headless Horseman off their trail. But there was still the issue boggling her mind of where exactly did he come from. Since the day started, lots of ghosts that Diana wouldn't expect to encounter, either for the first time or a second one, have appeared from almost nowhere. But when she witnessed that Terror Dog arrive and attack her and Alexis, she feared that another catastrophe of biblical proportions was on the horizon.

And, at the moment, there was something else that seemed to be on the horizon…

Directly in front of them was the Headless Horseman, maintaining his menacing pose on horseback right in the middle of the street. His flaming pumpkin still branded in hand, he bellowed with deep, ominous laughter, as he waited for his prey to come to him. The trap had been set, long before the chase had even begun. And Diana inadvertently drove right into it.

"Oh, shoot!!!" She screamed.

She immediately stomped on the brake, as soon as the Horseman came into view. However, the car did not stop. Either this was the worst time to have a faulty brake mechanism or something had taken control of the Ecto-1. And Diana was willing to bet on the latter, as the car had just recently been repaired after taking intense damage from last year's escapade.

Zeddemore then tried an alternative, which was basically turning the wheel and swerving out of the way, before they could've gotten anywhere near the Horseman. But just the wheel didn't budge one bit, not even after she put her entire weight upon it. Panic quickly settled in, as the Ecto-1 got within fifteen feet from the Horseman.

"HOLD ON!!!!" Diana cried to the others.

The Horseman cackled again, while it hurled the flaming pumpkin directly at the Ecto-1. Its passengers ducked upon seeing the grinning object fly at them and smash over the windshield. There was bright orange flash and then the vehicle suddenly jolted to a stop.

"Are we dead yet?" asked Todd, who realized along with everyone else how they were still in one piece.

Rising up from cover, they looked through the windows to see no sign of the Headless Horseman. There weren't even traces of the flaming pumpkin that smashed against the windshield (not even sign of damages). The street corner appeared darker than it was a moment ago, being partially lit from overhanging lanterns that had an eighteenth century style to them.

"What the heck just happened?" Diana asked, not expecting anyone in the car to exactly know, except for Spengler.

The scientist was already glancing through readings on his P.K.E., which appeared to be of the same type that he had seen from when they encountered the Terror Dog. "The readings are bouncing off one another again. I can't get a good fix on what's going on."

J.G. glanced through the windshield, seeing something ahead of them that sparked quite an astonished look upon his face. "Uh, Sean? I might not know _what_ is going on, but I can definitely tell you _where_ we are."

"Jay, no offense, but I fail to see the importance of our current location." Sean stated.

"Oh, yeah?" Stantz remarked, right before he reached over the steering wheel and brighten up the headlights, illuminating a colossal cathedral that stood majestically ahead of them.

But it was not just any cathedral—at least not one that was supposed to be standing in Manhattan. It was the well-known Gothic cathedral from Paris, France referred as "Notre Dame." And other than the fact that it stood within the parameters of New York City, it looked as if it had just recently been established.

"Remind me never to question your perception ever again, Jay," uttered the bewildered Spengler.

As the five passengers exited the Ecto-1, the bells of Notre Dame began ringing immensely from both the South and North Towers. Either they were rung manually like in the old days or through electric motors like in current times in Paris, France. Whatever the case might've been, the Proton Packs were strapped onto the backs of Zeddemore, Stantz, and Spengler, as they journeyed into the cathedral with Todd and Riley.


	12. Story 12

"I'm Your Boogeywoman…That's What I Am!"

Kimberly just had to imagine for a moment that if Sean Spengler were there with her and the new recruit, Meagan Tully, in this alternate dimension discovered past a closet, he would have quite a field day. He would be pulling out that P.K.E. Meter of his and scanning all over the area, making wild and crazy theories about dimensional rifts or the world coming to an end. And, frankly, she would've blamed him if he did, considering the current circumstances.

And at the moment, she wished that anyone _but_ Meagan was there with her, as the 21-year-old recruit just couldn't stop acting like a giddy schoolgirl. "Oh, yeah! Things are gonna be a lot different now! Because I've got a Ghostbuster with me today!" She was shouting all throughout the bizarre factory they were in…shouting to no one in particular. "You hear that, monsters?! I'm not alone anymore!!"

"Will you shut up?!" Kimberly screamed at her in aggravation. "Do you actually _want_ these 'monsters' to pop out at us?"

"Well, why not? You're armed with a Proton Pack. You can take them out single-handedly."

Kimberly shook her head, trying to compose herself before she completely lost it. "Wait a minute…wait a minute! Let's just keep ourselves together here. We can't just assume the worst. Maybe these 'friends' of yours aren't all dangerous. They could be domesticated for all you know." She had to stop and think for a minute about what she just said—something that Spengler would probably say. It freaked her out a little, thinking like an _actual_ scientist.

Yet within just a split of a second, it wasn't the only thing that freaked her out, once she and Meagan heard a collection of footsteps approaching. The Ghostbuster and the recruit quickly hid beneath one of the worktables located in the vicinity. From there, they watched two sets of feet enter the room—one scaly and purple, while the other was smaller and red. Meagan vaguely recognized the monstrous-looking feet; but she definitely recognized the voices of the strangers they belonged to as Randall and Fungus.

"Ya need to fix whatever's going wrong, Fungus!" Randall exclaimed. "I am not going to lose my opportunity of becoming scare-leader over some stupid glitch in the system!"

"I-I checked the current readouts over and over again, sir." Fungus nervously said. "The glitch occurred long before working hours began. Mister Waternoose has all the best engineers working their fingers off—literally, I should add—to get this taken care of before any more outsiders from the other side creep their way in."

"Waternoose owes me _big_ time for this mess! I want that scare record, and I _am_ gonna get that scare record, one way or another!!!"

Just at that moment, after Randall made his declaration, all of the lights in the room suddenly went out and darkened everything. The only lighting source left was from the daylight shining through the series of skylights from outside. Not only were Randall and Fungus alarmed by this, Kimberly and Meagan were as well, having not the slightest clue of what was going on.

Thankfully, they weren't alone, as Randall aggressively asked Fungus, "What? What's happening? What's going on here, Fungus?!?!"

"I…I have no idea, sir!" Fungus reacted in shock. "Perhaps the CDA shut everything down, trying to round up all the outsiders within the area. There are enough of them to create a _massive_ power surge of catastrophic proportions."

"We've gotta find Waternoose. C'mon, grab a flashlight and follow me."

Kimberly and Meagan watched their feet, as they hastily ran out of the large room. Venkman stuck her head out from beneath the worktable, watching the figures as they departed. Once they were completely away, she and Meagan moved out from their hiding spot, looking around the partially lit area for any more signs of bizarre creatures.

"Those were the guys that held me captive in that room with the large gun…the Scream Extractor," said the jittered Meagan.

Venkman took a deep breath before saying, "At first I thought you were just telling me some story while watching _Chronicles of Narnia_ and on some serious cold medicine. But now I've seen all of this, I've gotta say that you weren't making this up at all."

"You hear what they said just now? People from our world are being brought into theirs! They're invading us! Abducting us to extract the screams from our bodies, man!!!"

Kimberly glanced at Meagan with the same odd expression she gave her, after listening to her story. "You've _really_ gotta chill out, kiddo." Then, as she was caught off guard, Meagan detached the particle thrower from her Proton Pack and placed it in her hands. "Hey! Careful with that! What're you doing?!"

"Please, Dr. Venkman! You have to take care of these guys! People will get hurt if you don't!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's just get one thing straight here: I am only _one_ Ghostbuster going up against an army of monsters. That's just like _asking_ to have my butt kicked."

"So what can we do to take care of this?"

"Obviously, we'll have to get Sean Spengler in on this, because all of this is _way_ out of my normal element."

"I thought investigating the paranormal was your normal element."

Venkman instinctively chuckled. "No, sweetie. Dressing up as Jessica Rabbit during Halloween _is_ my normal element."

While Meagan seemed highly puzzled over Dr. Venkman's affirmation, she tried her best to just ignore it as the both of them started making their way towards the door the lead back to the firehouse headquarters. Unfortunately, once Kimberly opened it, what she expected to see as the sleeping quarters was instead just the other side of the room they were standing in.

"Uh…the heck?" uttered Venkman, her facial expression a better reaction to the situation than her own words.

Meagan then took notice of the machinery that was attached to the left and right sides of the door's base area. She saw the same yellow canister that she had seen all too often during her previous trip through Monstropolis. It was attached to the machinery and, for the first time, she realized it had levels of screams labeled near an LED indicator, from "extreme" to "low." On the machinery, she spotted a device used for sliding in cards, which she assumed worked the same way people used hotel cards to get through the doors of their rooms.

Through all of this, Meagan figured out how monsters were able to get into their world, and how she and Kimberly would be able to get back there. "This is how they invade our privacy. We've gotta find the access card for this door, in order for it to open to our world."

"Access card?" Venkman reacted to her assumption in confusion. "You mean like for a hotel room?"

"Yeah, something like that," said Meagan, as she began searching around the worktable near the door for one. "It's gotta be around here someplace."

Kimberly rolled her eyes and groaned, while sitting down on the floor and setting her particle thrower down next to her. "Yeah, that could take longer than I'd care for it to, so I'm just gonna…you know…"

Meagan turned her head for a brief moment and noticed her just sitting there in an Indian-styled way, with her eyes closed and her fingers gestured in a way similar to people in a meditative state (which she almost seemed to be in at that moment). "With all due respect, Dr. Venkman, I don't think what you're doing will help us that much," she said before continuing her search.

"You've been through all that I have, kiddo, you learn just to take a moment to relax and think about your next plan of action," said Venkman, utilizing her studies in psychology, which she held a PhD in. "The mind can only function rationally if both it and the body are at ease."

"But I don't see why…"

Kimberly shushed the recruit and said in what sounded like a bad Yoda impersonation, "It's not a question of why, my pupil. Do or do not…there is no why."

Not even bothering to glance at the bizarre scientist (if she could call her that any longer, once this situation was taken care of) after that strange statement, Meagan just continued to focus on searching for the access card to their door. In the midst of her search, she heard a loud, metallic bang that repeated itself not very long afterwards. Venkman not only heard it as well, but she also _felt_ near her.

Both women turned their heads to the source of the noise and noticed a small three-year-old girl dressed in a pink nightshirt and white socks, with dark brown eyes and hair that had small pigtails. She had the tip of Kimberly's particle thrower in her hands and watched as she let go of it and allowed it to hit the floor with a tremendous metallic _thud_. And, as if she sensed their stares, she looked up at Kimberly and Meagan.

She then said a word that was garbled enough for only a three-year-old to understand, "Lookit."

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!" Kimberly and Megan instinctively let out in reaction to the two-feet of cuteness standing before them. It was only shortly afterwards when Kimberly realized that she was fiddling with a nuclear device that she quickly and carefully moved away from her, attaching it back to her Proton Pack.

"Hey, you," she said in a sweet tone of voice, while picking the giggling little girl up. "What's your name? What're you doing here?"

The little girl just smiled and giggled at her.

Despite seeing the child so happy, Meagan couldn't help but to shake her head and angrily say, "The nerve of these monsters to take such a precious little girl like this away from the comfort of her own room, all in an attempt to scare the living daylights out of her."

"It isn't like that," said a voice that came out from nowhere. As soon as Kimberly and Meagan heard it, they turned in the direction it seemed to have come from and noticed a large, furry blue monster with purple spots and a small, one-eyed green one with short horns—both whom were very familiar to Meagan.

Regardless of familiarity, she was still cautious of their presence there, going as far as detaching the particle thrower from Venkman's Proton Pack (much to her surprise) and aiming it at them with a nervous, shaky grip. "T-T-Take o-one m-more s-step a-a-and I-I'll b-bl-blow yo-you monsters a-away!!"

The two monsters held their hands up, even though they were not entirely certain what the weapon being pointed at them was. It did have a very intimidating appearance to it, with its blinking lights and steaming vents. They had no idea what kind of firepower it had or even how it was fired…and, frankly, neither did Meagan herself.

"Kitty!" She suddenly heard the little girl exclaim. Looking over at her, she noticed how she was reaching out towards the two monsters in front of them, without showing any signs of fear. In fact, she seemed very happy to see them.

That was enough evidence for Kimberly to see that not all of the monsters in this realm were bad. Seeing the little girl's need in going to the monsters, she set her down and allowed her to rush over to them. The large, furry blue one then picked her up and cradled her in its arms as he asked, "Are you okay, Boo? I was looking for you everywhere."

Venkman smiled at the sight of the monster peacefully holding the girl like a concerned parent would. Despite its monstrous features, he was a very gentle creature and seemed to care deeply for the little girl. Turning to Meagan, who was still aiming the particle thrower at the two monsters, Kimberly took the device from her and said, "Easy, killer. I think they come in peace."

"Yeah, yeah…we do, we do!!" The small green monster frantically exclaimed. He then turned to his huge friend and said, "Right, Sulley?"

Meagan, still being very cautious of the two monsters, hid behind Kimberly as she calmly approached them. "You fellas can relax. We're not gonna hurt you," said Venkman.

"Yeah, that is if you don't hurt us _first_!" Meagan stated.

"Will you shut up?!" Kimberly whispered to her.

James P. "Sulley" Sullivan—the large, furry blue monster—spotted the familiar insignia on the right sleeve of Kimberly's outfit and grinned. "Hey, Mike…we know these guys. They're the Ghostbusters."

Mike Wazowski—the small, one-eyed green monster—blinked twice at the two humans before them, making sure he wasn't seeing things. "Didn't Waternoose prevent any further access to their door on grounds that they hunted creatures like us?!"

"I'm sure you m-meant to s-say because you guys are s-scared of t-them!" Meagan stammered, trying to sound bold and brave while still cowering behind Venkman. "R-Right, D-Dr. Venkman?"

Kimberly just shook her head in disgust, completely ignoring the whimpering coward hiding behind her and focusing on the two monsters in front of her. "So you guys know about us?"

"Oh, sure. You people are like public enemy #1 to us," said the aggravated Mike. "Anybody who dares to try and scare the Ghostbusters is practically signing their death certificate."

"Is it true that all of your monsters are kept in a tiny, crowded area?" Sulley inquired with huge interest.

"In our Containment Unit, yes." Venkman responded. "It's not tiny, but I'd bet it's definitely crowded inside."

_BBBBBBBBBBBUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGG!!!!!_

The loud, rumbling noise shook the foundation of the very room they stood in, its source coming from outside of the building. Something incredibly enormous then stood over the skylights, blocking the sunlight and turning the whole room pitch-black. The only lights that shined were from the indicators on Kimberly Venkman's Proton Pack.

_KEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRAAAAAACCCCCCKKKKK!!!!_

A gigantic human fist then crashed through both brick and glass, tearing away a large section of the ceiling above them. Kimberly, Meagan, Mike, Sulley, and Boo all ran for cover, while the huge chunks of debris rained down over the factory. In the midst of the chaos, the door leading back to the firehouse had been crushed to pieces, along with the machinery holding it in place.

Venkman and Tully were shocked to see their only ticket back home destroyed; but the shock was soon replaced over something entirely different, when they looked upward to see cause of the problem. Peeking through the gaping hole in the ceiling was the pudgy head of blue-eyed giant with bright red hair and remarkably dimwitted face.

_**"FEE, FI, FO, FUM!!!!!!"**_


	13. Story 13

"The Best of Both Worlds"

It wasn't very often when Peck and Hardemeyer took (or even shared) a taxicab, as they were normally escorted by the police or riding in the back of a limousine with the mayor. But having to take a taxicab to whatever it was that they needed to go in order to find Alexis's escaped ghosts was the drollest thing for former associates of the government to do. And the worst part of it was the three of them being crowded in the backseat.

"Any reason why we're all packed together in the backseat of this sardine can of a vehicle?" Louise asked, trying not to sound too ungrateful near their taxi driver, who looked almost _exactly_ like Robert DeNiro (the last thing she needed was for him to ask if she was talking to him).

John barely heard her question, as he was trying to fight off the numbness in his right leg. "Maybe it's because of all the crap he's got lying around on the floor up there!" Obviously, Hardemeyer wasn't all too concerned about offending the driver. And clearly hearing his harsh criticism, the cigar-smoking driver looked down at all of the leftover burger wrappers, French fry boxes, half-burnt cigarettes, and exotic magazines. He just shrugged off Hardemeyer's criticism and continued minding his own business.

"What happened to the car you blokes usually drive? That…um…Ecto-1?" Peck asked Alexis.

"It's being used at the moment," answered Alexis, who was fighting off her own numbness while sitting between Louise and John.

"You should really consider getting another company vehicle or something," suggested the frustrated Hardemeyer. "Having to deal with _this_ type of transportation every day is just a sin!"

It was that comment that greatly offended the driver, as he pulled to the side of the road and turned angrily to his passengers. "Alright, buddy! That's it! You and your girlfriends get outta my cab, right now!!"

"Sir, just ignore him." Alexis pleaded. "He's just upset because he's been unemployed and currently being forced to live with his mom."

Hardemeyer glanced her way and said with a bewildered, furious expression, "EXCUSE ME?!?!"

Unfortunately, Alexis's words (or John's retort for that matter) didn't help give the driver a change of heart, thus explaining his harsh tone as he demanded, "GET OUT!!!"

Immediately, the three of them piled out of the taxicab and stood out onto the nearby sidewalk, not long before Alexis removed her Proton Pack from the trunk. They watched as the driver screech away in the taxicab, not even bothering to ask for their fee. Strapping on her Proton Pack, Alexis felt very angry with John for blowing the precious time they needed to spend on searching for Slimer and the Lonesome Ghosts.

Louise Peck didn't feel all too pleased herself. "Thanks, John! I didn't expect to get much exercise tonight!"

"Who cares?!" Hardemeyer snapped. "It wasn't like we were going anywhere! Just circling around the city for hours and piling up the amount of our fee!" He then turned to Alexis and glared at her as he added, "I'm starting to think this so-called Ghostbuster is just wasting our time with this cruddy mission!!"

Alexis glared back at him and was about to tell him off, before she spotted something across the street that begged her attention more. She realized that the taxi driver had dropped them off near Madison Square Garden, which apparently was where Hannah Montana was performing that night (according to the marquee). It was a safe bet that their escaped ghosts might've gone there for their little night of fun and chaos.

"How big are you two on Pop music?" Alexis asked with a grin.

* * *

Miley Stewart could almost hear the millions of fans in the arena chanting her name…well, the name of her pop star alter ego, Hannah Montana. She was only in half of her usual H.M. garb, with the exotic clothes and fine jewelry. But it was her long brown hair that was slightly contradicting her appearance, due to the fact that Hannah was a well-known blonde. She had the wig there near her dressing room mirror, sitting over a foam mannequin head, as she was putting on her makeup.

While doing so, she was accompanied by her best friends Lilly Truscott (under the alias of "Lola Luftnagle" and disguised in a short, bright red wig, loud-colored clothes, and jewelry to help protect Miley's secret identity) and Oliver Oken (disguised as "Mike Standley III" with a fake goatee, aviator sunglasses, an upside-down visor, sweatpants, and a zip-up hoodie), both eating different flavors of ice cream and getting some on their faces.

Between licks, Lilly smiled and told Miley, "Man! Do I ever feel glad that I talked you into allowing free ice cream to everybody for this concert!"

"If I remember correctly, Dad was the one who convinced me it was a good idea." Miley confirmed. "You just stood by, salivated, and said, 'Oh! Oh! Please do it! Please do it!'."

Lilly rolled her eyes, somewhat embarrassed of being wrong. "You'd be salivating, too, if you often got that bad of a sugar rush."

Miley shook her head and grinned at her best friend, just as there was a knock at the door to her dressing room. "Miley, it's me," said the voice of her father and manager, Robby Stewart. "Just wanted to let you know that you've got fifteen minutes before you're wanted onstage."

"Alright. Thanks, Daddy." Miley remarked. She expected him to walk off afterwards; but when she heard the door open, she instantly reached for her blonde wig and put it on. "Daddy! What're you doing?! People gonna see me without my hair on!"

Robby had his head partially inside, wearing his own disguise to protect his daughter's secret in the form of a fake mustache and brown bucket hat. "Just wantin' to see if ya'll aren't eatin' too much of that ice cream. Especially you, Miley. You know how bad you get when eatin' before singin'."

"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Stewart." Lilly assured. "Oliver and I are doing most of the eating."

"Yeah, uh, speaking of that…Oliver…" Robby gestured to the space around his lips, as he gawked at Oliver strangely.

Oliver, noting the odd expression on his face and the gesture he made, touched around his lips. He soon realized that his goatee was missing, and when he tried to look around for it, he spotted it in the middle of his scoop of chocolate ice cream. "Oh! There it is!" He snatched it up and placed it back on his face, despite how it was still covered with the ice cream. "Thanks, Mr. Stewart."

Robby wanted to tell him to clean it up some, before keeping it on his face any longer. But he saw no point in it, since most of Oliver's face was already a sticky mess. "Uh…yeah…sure thing, son," he said before leaving the dressing room.

After her father left, Miley checked the mirror and straightened out her wig, which was a little lopsided after the rush she had to put it on. It was at that moment when she spotted a greenish glow at the top left corner of the mirror. She glanced at it and spotted some type of transparent, gluttonous, onion-headed figure with very skinny arms hovering right behind Lilly and Oliver.

"What the…?!" she cried as she quickly turned and looked towards her friends. She didn't see the transparent figure there behind them.

Lilly heard Miley's cry and glanced at her in concern. "You okay, Miley?"

"You guys didn't see that funky-lookin' thing creepin' up behind you?!"

Holding her nose and making a disgusted look, Lilly responded, "I don't know about funky-_looking_, but I smell something _really_ funky." She turned to Oliver, who was practically slobbering over his ice cream, and didn't have to guess the smell was coming from him.

Oliver noticed the accusing way she was staring at him, after hearing her claim of a foul stench. "What? It wasn't me this time! I swear it!"

Miley waved her hand in front of her face as fast as she could, trying to clear away the foul smell that was coming into her nostrils. She held her nose while moving away from her mirror and towards the door. "Well, whatever it is, I hope it gets on outta here after I'm done. See you guys later."

Lilly and Oliver waved to Miley as she left. Once she was gone, Lilly continued badgering to Oliver over the foul odor that he had supposedly given off. "Dude, you seriously have to get some more fiber in your diet. I think your lactose-intolerant or something."

"I'm telling you…it wasn't me!" Oliver defended himself, as he started smelling the odor himself and getting a little sick from it. "Ugh! Whatever it is, it sure isn't manmade!"

While they were looking all over the dressing room for the source of the smell, the gluttonous, transparent form of Slimer began manifesting right behind them. He spotted an ice cream cart across the room, and his mouth salivated from the delicious sight of it. A mixture of ectoplasm and saliva dripped to the peach-colored carpet below, straining it with green. Slimer went to the ice cream and started gobbling up each flavor by the bucket.

After Lilly and Oliver stopped their search, they turned in the direction of the cart to get some more ice cream to eat. Unfortunately, they soon realized that their snack was being consumed by an even hungrier force—a green, slimy ghost! Lilly and Oliver froze in place, dropping the ice cream they had already been consuming to the carpeted floor, and they stared at the creepy sight before them, mouths and eyes wide opened in shock.

Slimer sensed the stares of the two mortals behind him and turned to face them, his mouth full and dripping with ice cream. Swallowing it whole, he allowed it to digest within his translucent form. Lilly and Oliver could practically see it doing so, becoming very disgusted at the odd sight. As soon as the ice cream had been digested, Slimer let out a massive belch that overwhelmed Lilly and Oliver, knocking off Lilly's wig and Oliver's fake goatee. An even fouler smell overcame the area as the two youths screamed in horror, while they immediately ran out of the dressing room. Slimer wasn't very far behind, chasing after them while excreting the ice cream he had digested, leaving a trail of green and brown ectoplasmic fluid.

* * *

A visit to the ticket booth proved futile for Alexis, Louise, and John, after they attempted to purchase some tickets to the Hannah Montana concert, only to discover they had all been sold out—even ones for the nosebleed section. Alexis even tried to convince the booth guy that there might've been four dangerously crazy ghosts inside the arena and her ghost-busting expertise was needed. But the booth guy just figured she was using her occupation to con her way into a free show, just like the "last woman."

And Alexis didn't have to do much guessing to figure that "last woman" was Kimberly Venkman. _Again, she screws things up for me!_

The three of them stood near the entrance to Madison Square Garden, feeling hopeless of the situation that could be brewing within the building, ready to explode at any moment. It was John who presumed at the moment, "Maybe once they pile out of the building in shock, that'll give us the opportunity to go in there and bust these guys."

"Brilliant idea, John," said a sarcastic Louise. "And once we get ourselves unstuck from the floor, we can consider trying to bust these blokes from the nearby hospital!"

Hardemeyer gave Peck a confused stare, wondering what she meant from that witty remark. But it was Alexis who cleared things up when she told him, "The point is _not_ to cause a riot, Hardemeyer. We have to get in there, while the concert is in full swing, so that no one will suspect any chaotic activity happening backstage…which is where I'm guessing our little friends to be right now."

"Well, we certainly cannot get backstage any less _near_ the stage." Louise indicated. "So what do we do?"

Alexis took a moment to think long and hard about it, and as she was doing so, she heard the nearby voices of two boys engaged in a heavy argument—one sounding older, while the other sounded younger. She, Peck, and Hardemeyer went around near the back of the building to find a 15-year-old Latino boy and a 20-year-old Caucasian boy with a southern accent. It appeared that the Latino boy was scalping some Hannah Montana concert tickets, much to the southern kid's chagrin and confusion.

"I don't see what the heck ya need to scalp tickets for!" The Southern kid exclaimed. "Don't your parents give ya enough as it is?"

"Listen, it's very complicated for your feeble brain to get, so if I bothered tellin' ya, then you'd just get lost like always!" The Latino boy retorted. "So, please, just let me handle my business." That was when he spotted Alexis, Louise, and John approaching and smiled as he said, "Step right up, folks. Buy some tickets for the Hannah Montana conce…"

The southern kid suddenly stepped forward and covered the Latino kid's mouth, trying to prevent him from making any more deals with the three. "Don't listen to him. He's just desperate for attention. You know how kids can be these days…just the craziest little things."

Alexis felt a hand come down on her shoulder, having an intense grip to it. At first she was afraid that it might've been the police; but she turned and noticed it was just John Hardemeyer, acting like the political figure he used to be again. "You are not _actually_ considering buying scalped tickets, are you? It's illegal on so many levels!"

"Oh, stop being such an arrogant divvy, Hardemeyer!" Louise yelled in frustration. "Do whatever you can to get us in, Alexis."

As much as Alexis wanted to buy the tickets, her conscience just wouldn't allow her. But she needed to get inside to bust Slimer and the Lonesome Ghosts, before they caused any panic. However, the sudden noise of girl screaming nearby might've not only given her an excuse _not_ to purchase the scalped tickets, but also confirm her worst fears.

Detaching her Proton Gun from the Pack, she said in frustration, "That's it! I'm getting in there, with or without any darn tickets!" She then stomped her way towards the back entrance, with Peck, Hardemeyer, and the two boys following.


	14. Story 14

"That's So [Insert Here]"

One of the backdoors to the Madison Square Garden arena violently swung open the moment Alexis's heavy black boot kicked it in. With her Proton Gun firmly gripped in hand, she pointed straight ahead of her and boldly declared, "I'm gonna bust every single one of these ghosts, even if it takes all of the breath I have in me!"

Little did she realize at the time of her declaration that she was aiming her Proton Gun at a group of backstage workers who were right in the middle of a _McDonald's_ meal. When they took notice of her brash entrance, they blankly stared and one of them remarked (with a mouth full of food), "Well, good luck with that…weirdo." The group bellowed with laughter, making Alexis feel slightly embarrassed.

"I thought you said that you didn't want to cause a panic," said the sarcastic Hardemeyer, who seemed to have taken pleasure in Alexis's moment of embarrassment.

"Shut up." Alexis uttered.

_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!_

The laughing backstage workers immediately fell silent at the time they heard the loud, high-pitched scream. They quickly consumed the rest of their meals (some of them just stuffed sandwiches into their mouths and carried them as such), while they were running away from the direction of the screams.

"Those screams sound like they came from Miley's dressing room!" The southern boy exclaimed in great concern.

His Latino friend turned to him in curiosity and asked, "In _who's_ dressing room?!"

The southern kid realized his blunder and tried to cover it up the best way he could. "What was it that I said? I meant _Hannah's_ dressing room…_Hannah Montana_!"

Louise looked up and down at the boy, seeming to have recognized him a little. "Are you Jackson Stewart? I've heard that you and Miss Montana were once like two peas in a pod."

"At one time, yes. But, sadly, business came before pleasure."

"And speaking of business," said an impatient Alexis, "we should focus on our current situation, before it gets even more out of hand!"

"Well, we'd be happy to oblige, _if_ we knew how to get around this place!" Hardemeyer retorted.

The Latino kid then stepped forward and acted real cool and calm as he said, "Allow me to be your guide. I've gotten enough backstage passes to this place to know every nook and cranny there is. Just follow Rico and you just might come out of this smelling like a bed of roses."

Rico led the group further down the backstage area, including a very skeptical John Hardemeyer, who harshly stated, "We're following a pubescent kid through an arena full of other pubescent kids and possibly dangerous, hungry ghosts. Can this night get _any_ weirder?"

* * *

It wasn't too often when Raven Baxter and her friends hung out with her brother, Cory Baxter, and his new friends out of Washington, D.C. And what a better way for them all to hang out than at the Hannah Montana concert in New York City, getting tickets at the earliest time possible…thanks to a precognition from the psychic mind of Raven.

The Baxter siblings sat together with their respective best friends: Eddie Thomas, Chelsea Daniels, Newt Livingston III, and Meena Paroom. They had gotten to know one another only recently, when Raven offered a trip back to the Tipton Hotel, where she crossed paths with Hannah Montana herself once or twice. This was pretty evident from the countless questions that Chelsea asked Meena, regarding her home country of Bahavia.

Her questions continued right onto the moment they took their seats in the arena, as Chelsea asked, "What kind of cheese do they eat in Bohavia? Do they get to watch _American Idol_ at the same time that we do? How many _Starbucks_ coffee shops do they have there? What do they call a _Quarter Pound with Cheese_?"

"CHELSEA!!!" Meena exclaimed, her frustration finally boiling over. "I respect your great interest in my Bahavian culture. But with all due respect, I've just come to have fun and rock to some Hannah Montana."

"For real, girl." Cory uttered. "Just chill for a moment."

Chelsea seemed slightly hurt from the negativity coming at her. "Alright…sheesh, man. I can't help it if I'm curious to know what time New Year's is celebrated in Bohavia."

"IT'S BAHAVIA! BAH, BAH, BAH!!" Meena retorted.

"Ohhhh, so the national animal of Bohavia is the sheep." Chelsea said, with an intrigued smile. "Very cool."

Newt, whom had been listening in on the conversation (along with most of the other people sitting around them), seemed intrigued himself over what Chelsea just assumed. "Awesome! I did _not_ know that. See, Meena? Asking a lot of questions _does_ help you learn new things."

Overwhelmed by the naïve behavior of the two, Meena sunk down deep in her seat and rubbed both of her temples, fighting over the growing headache. Nearby, Cory was whispering to his sister, "This _is_ gonna be the last time we hang out together, isn't it?"

"Oh, yeah." Raven abruptly answered.

But it was soon that Raven's mind was completely off the situation taking place a few seats away from her and on the concert entirely, as she received another one of her visions of the future. It flashed before her very eyes when she least suspected it, taking away all that was going on around her and replacing it with a totally different setting. Albeit things appeared very bright and blurry, she could see things clear enough to make out what the future held.

In Raven's vision, there was a Ghostbuster (one she did not recognize as one of the original four that started the business) being chased by a demonic dog of some kind in the backstage area of Madison Square Garden. Her friends were there as well, trying to attract the monster's attention, presumably to keep it off the Ghostbuster's back long enough for her to capture it.

_"Come here, little doggy! Come here!"_

It was Chelsea's voice she heard in the vision, obviously treating the demonic canine like some type of _normal_ dog. Unfortunately, this dog was beyond normal, with long, razor-sharp horns in place of where its ears should be and eyes that were red as blood. It looked like a strange hybrid of a bull and a dog. And that seemed to have been the way Newt was attracting it in her vision, when he said…

_"Toro! Toro! Toro!"_

He was waving a red cloth, just like a bullfighter, attracting the monster's attention in a way that didn't seem quite so suitable. It worked a little too well, as the demonic dog roared viciously at Newt and charged at him with such speed and ferocity, there was no way Newt could dodge in time to avoid it. He stood there and screamed in terror, as the monster leaped high over the air, pouncing straight at him.

The last image Raven had seen in her vision was Newt's horrified face, before she snapped out of her vision and returned to the present time. The precognition gave Raven the chills, unlike most of the ones she had experienced in the past. She couldn't enjoy the rest of her evening, knowing something like that was going to happen sometime that very night.

She turned to her brother and their friends, opening her mouth to tell them what she just saw in her vision. But she stopped and thought for a moment—if she told them what would happen, then she could be running the risk of getting them involved and possibly making her vision come true. Instead, all she told them was, "I've got to go to the bathroom."

The others glanced over at her in surprise.

"Are you serious?!" Cory asked. "The concert is about to start in two minutes. By the time you get back, we'll all be up out of our seats and dancing."

"I know, but I've _really_ got to go," said Raven, squirming in her chair for added effect.

"Well, I'll go with you, so that you won't get lost on your way back," Chelsea offered. "I'll buy some popcorn, so I can leave a trail behind." She pointed to her head and smiled, feeling proud of her bright idea.

Raven nervously chuckled, thinking fast of an excuse that would draw off Chelsea. "Um…no, Chelsh…it's cool. I'm psychic, remember? I'll just let my mind guide my way back here."

Chelsea seemed rather surprised at this sudden revelation. "You can actually do that? Wow!"

"Amazin', ain't it, girl?" Raven said with a grin, right before she left her seat and headed out of the arena.

The first thing Raven had done after heading out was come up with a good plan to get backstage, without being caught by any security, which were practically covering the entire building. Normally in situations like this, she would work up the best disguise possible to fool anyone that stood in her way. But which disguise should she use for this problem?

That's when she spotted a mustached, plus-sized janitor going into the unoccupied women's bathroom, with a mop and bucket. It wasn't exactly a reasonable disguise for going to save a Ghostbuster and confronting a demonic beast. But as long as it could help her get past security, then she didn't care how blue collar she appeared to one of the hottest (and only) paranormal exterminators in New York City.

Being extremely careful not to be seen by any security personnel, Raven tiptoed her way over to the janitor's quarters, which was left partially open after the janitor went to his regular duties. She went inside dressed in her average colorful attire; but she came out dressed in navy blue jumpsuit, a fake mustache, and a cap that hid her long, black hair to give her a male appearance. In addition to her costume, she carried an extra mop and bucket from inside the quarters.

She was just on her way to the backstage area, trying not to look too suspicious, when a security guard spotted her from behind and said, "Hey, you!"

Raven stopped dead in her tracks. She didn't bother turning around to face the security guard, fearing that he would see right through her disguise. Instead she popped up her collar to hide half of her face, while she partially turned to the guard and answered in a deep voice, "Uh, yeah…what's up, man?"

"You're heading backstage, aren't ya?"

"That's where I'm goin'. Is there a problem?"

"Not at all. Just wanted to wish you good luck. 'Cause you're gonna be spending some serious time trying to clean up the mess in Hannah Montana's dressing room. It appears somebody had _way_ too much ice cream."

Raven cringed over the thought of the mess in there. She couldn't imagine Hannah Montana ever being that messy, especially for a girl who prided herself on looking good before giving a concert. It had to have been the monster, already beginning its destruction through the backstage area. But no one must've been aware of its presence yet, if the security guard didn't seem too alarmed.

"Uh…thanks for the pep talk, my man. I'll be shovin' off now." Raven told him, before continuing on her path.

However, the security guard seemed too anxious to get the last word, as he shouted to her while she was walking, "Hope you've got a gas mask hidden in that bucket. You're gonna need one." He followed his statement with a laugh that Raven couldn't help but to find annoying and bizarre.

Luckily, the laugh subsided as soon as she went through the set of double doors that led to the backstage hallways. But right after she entered them, she found herself trampled by a couple of people in business suits. And one of them didn't seem all too apologetic about it, as he rudely said, "Why don't you watch where you're going, you clueless fool?!"

Offended by this unruly stranger, Raven retorted, "Oh, no you did _not_ just call me a fool!" And she realized all too late that she spoke to this man with her usual feminine tone of voice, which the two formal-suited people quickly took notice from.

"Sounds as if puberty totally missed this bloke," said the blonde British woman, with a raised eyebrow.

Before Raven could explain herself to the two black-suited figures, a loud electrical sparkling noise sounded from across the hallway. Raven's eyes widened with surprise when she noticed the same Ghostbuster from her vision, firing at what appeared to have been a fat, green ghost and four others in bowler hats floating high in the air, right above the heads of four frightened kids that were cowered in the corner. Upon seeing the ghosts that the paranormal exterminator was fighting, Raven quickly realized that neither of them were the same one from her vision. This confused her greatly, as she wondered just how many ghosts were in the building.

Of course, Raven needn't to wonder much longer, as she and the two black-suited strangers heard a deep, ominous growling noise right behind them. Chills moving up and down their spines, the three of them slowly turned and were met with the terrifying eyes of the same demonic creature that Raven had seen in her vision. It snarled at them with humungous, sharp teeth and drooled with saliva that was hot enough to burn a hole through the floor when drops of it hit.

Only two words expressed the fright that Raven and the two black suits felt upon seeing the creature: "Oh, snap!"

* * *

The Hannah Montana concert was in full swing, with Hannah herself onstage and singing her most recent hit song, "Ice Cream Freeze." Several teens and preteens in the crowd were wildly cheering for her, while rocking along to the beat of her song. There was only one group of kids in the crowd that were an exception, and their names were Cory Baxter, Eddie Thomas, Chelsea Daniels, Newt Livingston, and Meena Paroom. They were all heavily concerned about Raven, as she had been gone for nearly half an hour.

"We'd better go look for her," suggested Chelsea, who seemed a little nervous. "She might've run into some problems."

Cory sighed, a little frustrated how his sister was ruining the good time that he should've been having there at the concert. "Alright, fine! But just two of us are going. And I'm not missing out on the free ice cream they're serving in a little while!"

"It's no problem if I go." Newt offered. "I'm lactose-intolerant anyways."

Newt and Chelsea both agreed to be the ones to leave the arena and search for Raven, unbeknownst of the fact that they were both key players in the most frightening vision of her life.


	15. Story 15

"You Ain't Nothin' But A Terror Dog"

The immense heat of the Proton Gun was beginning to overwhelm Alexis's grip upon it, as she made a countless effort to try and bust Slimer and the Lonesome Ghosts and end what felt like a long, exhausting night. Louise Peck and John Hardemeyer were no help whatsoever, especially after they just screamed like crying little babies and ran away. These ghosts weren't even all that frightening up close, which was pretty evident from the silly faces they were making at her as she fired every ounce of power from her Proton Pack.

While busy with the task of fighting the recently-escaped ghosts, she heard Louise, John, and a third party screaming like whiny babies once again. She was starting to become very agitated with everyone screaming like that, while she was the only serene one in the whole group. But she figured that it was understandable, considering how none of them had ever faced supernatural moments like this before.

However, as she glanced over to where Louise and John stood, she realized just how necessary their screams were, once she noticed the Terror Dog from earlier that evening standing there in the building with them. She immediately shut off her Proton Gun, finding a much greater threat in this monster than the ghosts hovering above her, and screamed to Louise, John, and the janitor who had mysteriously entered the picture, "GET DOWN!!!"

They had done exactly what the Ghostbuster said, right before she opened fire on the demonic beast, knowing full well that her stream would have no effect against it. But she needed to distract it long enough for Louise, John, and the janitor to crawl her way and move at a safe distance from the demon she was fighting.

"Peck! Hardemeyer! You two get everybody out of here!" Alexis ordered them. "I'll hold off this monster!"

Louise and John didn't bother arguing against Alexis's demand, as they were too afraid as it was to object anything. Together they guided Jackson, Rico, Lilly, Oliver, and the mysterious janitor away from the scene, dashing down through a hallway that was to the left of them. They had no idea where they were going, as long as it was far from the demonic canine.

Slimer and the Lonesome Ghosts instantly stopped having fun, when the Terror Dog entered the picture. Even they were frightened by its hellish appearance, so much that they made a quick exit, phasing their transparent forms through the nearest wall. These ghosts knew when the fun was over, at least in one particular area. Their fun was far from over; but their night at Madison Square Garden was, if the Terror Dog was there.

Alexis barely even realized they had disappeared, being focused on the demon before her. It didn't occur to her how alone she was in that hallway, as she continued firing her useless particle stream at the dog. The demon just snarled viciously, angered and annoyed from her fruitless effort in trying to defeat it. With one ferocious howl, the Terror Dog began charging straight at Alexis, moving through the particle stream as if it were just water splashing its grotesque face.

Shutting down her Proton Gun, Alexis felt her task was accomplished in distracting the dog's attention. She ran as fast as she could down the hallway, not deciding to go down the one that Louise, John, and their friends did. It was crucial for her to keep it away from them, long enough to come up with a good plan.

* * *

Chelsea and Newt checked as many places as they could to find Raven, including the bathroom, which was the first place they checked (or at least Chelsea did, since it was the girl's bathroom). But it seemed as if Raven was nowhere around, which puzzled them both more than usual. And the worst thing of it all was that they seemed to be lost themselves, after spending half an hour searching all over for Raven.

"Oh, man! I totally forgot which section we came out from," uttered a nervous Chelsea. "I can't remember if it was A, B, C, or even Q."

For some strange reason, Newt was reciting the alphabet in his head, and when he got after "C," he completely went blank. "Does 'Q' come after 'C'?"

"I don't know! I can't even remember _that_!"

The two were nearly on the verge of panicking, until they heard Eddie's voice call out to them from nearby. "What've ya'll been doing? Counting all of the concession stands in M.S.G. or something?" They turned and noticed Eddie and Meena, accompanied with an extremely ticked-off Cory, walking towards them.

"Oh, Eddie! Thank goodness you guys showed up!" Chelsea ran up and hugged him at the moment she saw them arrive. "You all are some _serious_ lifesavers, man!"

Eddie looked very confused at her joyful attitude, seeing that he had seen her only a short while ago. Meanwhile, Cory was less than enthusiastic seeing Newt and Chelsea again. "They are serving _tubs_ of multi-flavored ice cream in the arena right now! And we are not there to get any! WHERE IS RAVEN?!?!?!"

Newt and Chelsea wanted to give Cory a straight answer, but it appeared that neither of them had one to give him. At least that was until Newt spotted a janitor with the same figure as Raven, coming out of his quarters with a highly puzzled look on his face. "Oh! There she is!"

When Cory and the others turned to see who Newt _thought_ was Raven Baxter, they could barely believe he even say that it was. "That is _not_ my sister, man!" Cory angrily exclaimed. "That's just some janitor!"

Newt closed one eye while looking at the janitor and said, "Well, he kinda looks like her from the side."

Chelsea also closed one eye and realized that Newt did have a point. "Yeah, she kinda does, now that you mention it."

While the others just shook their heads in disgust at the two naïve members of their troupe, one of the security personnel appeared and spotted the janitor coming out from his quarters. He seemed extremely confused, scratching his head, as he called out to him, "Hey, you!" His voice was heard from Cory and his friends, and they watched him as he approached the janitor. "I thought you were backstage, cleaning up that mess in Hannah Montana's dressing room."

The janitor looked just as puzzled as the guard. "What're youse talkin' about? I've been cleanin' out da bathrooms da whole time!"

"Oh, really?" said the suspecting guard. "Well, we'll just see if you cleaning bathrooms or _really_ trying to disguise yourself as a janitor to see a free Hannah Montana concert!"

"WHAT?!" The janitor exclaimed, as he roughly grabbed by the arm from the security guard and led away, screaming in protest.

Listening in on the conversation between the guard and janitor made Cory and the others think about where exactly Raven could have been at that time. If a janitor that had a physique identical to Raven was suspected of being one in disguise wasn't enough to clue them in on what had become of her, then nothing else would have.

The only question that remained was: Why would she be desperate enough to go backstage?

Of course, neither of them bothered trying to figure out and instead focused on getting there to find her, before she got herself into serious trouble…again. With careful sneakiness, they headed through the double doors that led backstage, not seen by any of the security personnel.

* * *

Running for what felt like hours, Louise and John stopped in the middle of the hallway with Jackson, Rico, Lilly, Oliver, and Raven and took a moment to catch their breath. While doing so, Raven began to feel guilty leaving Alexis behind to take care of the demonic canine and made a plea to the others. "We've got to go back and help her. She can't take of that thing alone."

Still shocked by the high pitch in the voice of this "janitor," John shook his head and uttered, "No, we sit tight, wait, and let the so-called 'professional' handle this."

"But she'll get hurt, if we don't do something," said Raven, as she began taking off the cap and fake moustache to reveal her real identity (much to the surprise of the people in front of her). "Listen, I've got a plan to…"

"RAVEN!" She suddenly heard her brother's angry voice calling out from across the hallway. And as much as she wanted to think that it wasn't him, his continuous ranting proved not to be the case. "What're you doing back here?"

She turned to him, almost glaring into his eyes. "I'd ask you the same question!"

"Okay, Raven…I understand that you're anxious to see Hannah Montana in person again," said a concerned Chelsea, "but I seriously think you should return to the arena, before you get caught. Alright?"

"Chelsea, it's not like that at all." Raven explained. "I had a vision of…"

_BBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!_

The ferocious sound nearly made them all jump out of their skins, as they spotted Alexis running towards them, still being chased by the monstrous dog. As Raven saw this, a feeling of déjà vu came over her, and it didn't take long for her to realize that this was exactly what happened in her vision.

Quickly thinking of a way to help the Ghostbuster and themselves, Raven looked around to find someplace for everyone to hide. It was then that she noticed they were standing right outside the dressing room of Hannah Montana. She dashed over to the door and opened it, urging her friends to go inside. "Everybody in here! C'mon!"

While they all ran inside the dressing room, the panicked and exhausted Alexis saw how Raven was keeping the door open for her as well, waving for her to follow them. Just as she neared the opened doorway, Alexis practically leaped and fell into the room, right before Raven slammed the door and locked it shut. She then stepped away, once the demonic dog began clawing at it in from the other side.

"Ya nasty!" She cursed the monster, after she helped Alexis to her feet. "Are you okay?"

Alexis nodded in confirmation. "Thanks for saving my butt. Took some quick thinking for you to do what you did."

"Quick thinking…or maybe some simple precognition," remarked a sheepish Raven.

"You mean you're a mind reader?" Alexis said, sounding very impressed. "Oh, I know for a fact that Kimberly Venkman would take a great interest in talking with you."

Raven smiled brightly on this notion, being the huge admirer she was on that particular Ghostbuster. "Really?! You know I dig that girl the most of out all y'all, no offense."

Hardemeyer rolled his eyes over this "moment" between Alexis and Raven, while still hearing the fierce clawing noises coming from outside the dressing room. "Okay, enough girl time! We need to focus on getting rid of Pluto's satanic cousin, before he rips us all to shreds!"

"Raven, you said that all of this was in a vision." Eddie said. "What did we do to get rid of this thing?"

Raven couldn't bring herself to tell Eddie and everyone else the part where Newt was attacked by the demonic canine. All that she did tell them was, "We got around and started screaming at the same time. I'm not sure if we were distracting or confusing it, but I think it was working."

While hearing this, Alexis began to formulate a plan in her head. "Then that's what we'll do. You all spread out over the room and yell real loud, trying to get its attention. Meanwhile, I'll sneak up from behind, roll the Ghost Trap in underneath it, and pull its ugly butt right in."

Although it sounded like a great plan to Raven, she just couldn't help but to think about what would happen to Newt in the process of it. It was because of this that she suggested, "I'm in, as long as Newt is the one who opens the door and lets the dog in."

Newt seemed not only confused but slightly terrified by Raven's proposal. "Well…wh-why m-me?"

"Dude, relax." Cory calmly told him. "My sister would tell you if she saw something bad in your future. Right, Raven?"

Raven smiled and nodded to Cory, before she quietly said to herself, "Oh, man. I hope this works."

A short moment later, everyone was spread around the dressing room, with Newt and Alexis standing on opposite sides of the door. Alexis had her Ghost Trap ready, while Newt was braving himself to open the door and allow the Terror Dog to barge in. His palms were sweaty, as well as his face. No matter how much he or anyone else told him that he could do this, he kept telling himself that he couldn't in his head.

Unfortunately, drastic times called for drastic measures—and whether or not he wanted to do this, he just had to for the sake of his friends.

Once Alexis nodded for him to open the door, Newt slowly reached for the knob, practically hearing the dog's ominous breathing on the other side and smelling his foul breath, which seeped through the cracks of the door. The moment his hand finally touched the knob, he turned it and opened the door in such lightning-quick fashion that he barely even realized he had done so.

The Terror Dog broke the door down at the moment it charged in, howling with enough ferocity to shatter the mirror in Hannah Montana's dressing room. It was this time when everyone began screaming and shouting at once, distracting and confusing the beast long enough for Alexis to roll her Ghost Trap in. The plan seemed to have been working, as the demonic canine gazed left and right, seeing several possible souls to consume and bodies to possess.

"Come here, little doggy! Come here!" Chelsea exclaimed, exactly the way Raven predicted, even making kissing noises in addition.

However, one seemed to have cried out the strongest from behind it, in the form of Newt Livingston. He blatantly joined in to help distract the beast; but at the same time, he failed to realize that he had blown Alexis's cover in doing so. And for reasons unclear to her, he took a red tablecloth from the nearby cart of ice cream and acted like a matador, even going as far as waving the tablecloth and chanting, "Toro! Toro! Toro!"

Little did both Newt and Alexis realize that this was exactly what happened in Raven's vision, right before the monster charged at Newt. And that was exactly what appeared to be happening again, as the demonic canine turned and focused on him, roaring viciously. It then charged at him with such speed and ferocity that there was no way Newt could dodge in time to avoid it. He stood there and screamed in terror, as the monster leaped high over the air, pouncing straight towards him.

"NO!" Raven cried, her vision coming true right before her eyes.

Meanwhile, Alexis decidedly made a last ditch effort. Only seconds before the Terror Dog had pounced, she screamed to Newt, "Catch this!" She then tossed the Ghost Trap to him, and he luckily caught it, with the top end of it pointed directly at the beast. With the foot pedal end grasped in her hands, Alexis pressed down on it, using her palm, and immediately opened the trap.

A bright flash emerged from the Ghost Trap, making Newt and everyone else turned their eyes away from it. The flash engulfed the Terror Dog, and its dark, grayed, ominous form began to dematerialize directly into the Ghost Trap. After every part of its body was inside, the Ghost Trap automatically closed, sealing its captive inside.

Newt slowly opened his eyes to see that he was still in one piece and the monster was completely gone from the room. Looking down at the smoking Ghost Trap in his hands, he smiled and yelled, "AWESOME!!!"

Everyone else, especially Raven, sighed in relief over the Terror Dog's defeat. Alexis was the first to voice her satisfaction by saying, "Good work, everybody. It really took a lot of bravery from all of you to do what you did in stopping that thing."

"Yeah, a lot of bravery or plenty of stupidity," said Hardemeyer, right before he was slapped across the arm by Louise.

And then, right at that moment, Alexis's phone began ringing in the left breast pocket of her flight suit. She pulled it out and answered it, with a hint of exhaustion in her voice. "Hello?"

"Alexis…" It was Christina Melnitz, who sounded as if someone close to her had just passed away. "You'd better get back here to the firehouse. Something _big_ just came up."

"What? What's wrong?"

"All of the new recruits are missing…and I think this large, ugly, metal door with a gargoyle or goblin face imprinted on it might have something to do with it."

Alexis's eyes tightly shut closed, a wave of frustration and immense exhaustion coming over her. She wondered to herself just when this horribly nightmarish evening would be over, and if anyone would be still alive by the time it did.


	16. Story 16

"Not-So-Fun And Not-So-Fancy Free"

Mass hysteria reigned over Monstropolis that very afternoon, as several "outsiders" (people from the Earth world) were coming in to the once-peaceful city of monsters. The C.D.A. (Child Detection Agency) had their work cut out for them, as they weren't just hunting down children, but adults as well. It was a disaster of huge proportions, especially with the city's power shutdown from all the screams.

However, outsiders were the least of the C.D.A.'s worries, as there a fat giant with bright red hair looming over the _Monsters, Inc._ factory. Helicopters circled around him, studying his humungous structure and wondering just where he had come from. While doing so, they had no idea how much they were disturbing the giant. From the buzz of the rotors and the yellow print of the letters "C," "D," and "A" against the black shell of the helicopter made the giant think they were bees flying around him.

Directing his attention away from the factory, he swatted at the helicopters and drove them away from him. "Hey! Geta way ya stoopid beez! Ya bug in me too mulch!"

The pilots did their best to avoid the giant palms coming their way. Unfortunately, some of them made too much contact with the giant's hands and resulted in losing total control. They bailed from the helicopter before it crashed to the ground and exploded, parachuting their way back to land. But it wasn't over for the giant, as more helicopters were called in for backup, a few of them armed with lethal guns.

Of course, when the helicopters opened fire on the giant, the bullets simply bounced off his bulbous belly and arms, tickling him. The giant busted out with a laugh that echoed the heavens as he said, "Dat sure does fleah goooood!!!"

Meanwhile, from inside the _Monsters, Inc._ factory, Kimberly Venkman and Meagan Tully watched the so-called "battle" between the giant and the helicopters. Mike, Sulley, and Boo were observing the confrontation as well, with Boo getting very frightened at the sight of the giant and whimpering in Sulley's arms.

Sulley petted her gently and assured, "Everything will be alright, Boo."

Venkman scratched her head, trying to figure out how Willie the Giant—a foe whom the Ghostbusters had faced back in the winter of 2007, when a magical storybook conjured up characters from fairy tales—had returned to reality, after the book was destroyed. He was the largest monster they faced, right next to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

"This doesn't make any sense," said the confused Kimberly. "How did Willie get here of all places?" She then turned to the quivering Meagan and inquired, "Was he here the last time you were?" From the way Tully was shaking and how she completely failed to answer Venkman's question, it was obvious what the answer was. "Never mind."

A bright flash caught their attention, as they watched four more helicopters fall under Willie's wrath. Seeing the danger in just being there, Mike hastily suggested, "We've gotta beat it, while we've still got our limbs!!"

The others didn't bother to argue with that idea and followed Wazowski, who was practically the first one out of the room. Through the hallways of the building, the five realized just how dark it was in a few places, while partially bright in some others. They were careful not to trip over one another, as they journeyed across the halls.

As soon as they reached the main lobby, they all skidded to an immediate halt. Standing right in the middle of the room were Randall Boggs, Fungus, and Mister Waternoose, engaged in discussion over something that didn't quite pertain to the power loss or the giant wreaking havoc outside.

Realizing how suspicious it would appear having three humans (one of which was a Ghostbuster) accompanying them, Sulley handed Boo over to Meagan and told both her and Kimberly, "Hide close behind me. We don't want Mister Waternoose or Randall finding out you're here."

Kimberly and Meagan did exactly as Sulley told them, right before he and Mike started walking towards the three monsters in the main lobby. By the time they reached within ten feet from them, Mike and Sulley began walking sideways—with Kimberly and Meagan mimicking the same motion—still facing Randall, Fungus, and Waternoose with big smiles on their faces.

Eventually Waternoose detected their presence there and shined a flashlight in their direction. "Sullivan! Wazowski! What're you two doing here? I thought all employees had evacuated the premises, once the incident occurred."

Randall looked suspiciously at Sulley and Mike, as the two were just standing where they were and grinning heavily. Acting casual was not really one of their biggest traits, with Mike looking slightly more nervous than Sulley. The sweat coming down his face could practically be seen by Randall.

"W-We're just…uh…er…" Mike stammered to find the right words, glancing towards Sulley in hopes of covering for him.

Luckily, Sulley thought of just the right words. "We were just checking to see if Mike had left behind his lunchbox."

"Uh, yeah! That's right!" Mike quickly exclaimed.

Randall's eyes rolled a little from this pathetic cover-up by the two. But Waternoose appeared to have bought it as he asked, "Did you find it?"

"Yes," said Mike, before he noticed Sulley slightly shaking his head. "I mean, no! No, we did _not_ find it. It turns out that I chose not to eat my own lunch today. Celia and I are going to this nice place, where they serve the best…"

"What're you hiding, Wazowski?!" Randall rudely interjected.

Mike was taken aback by his accusing attitude, but was able to continue playing the fool. "Uh, beg your pardon?"

"Oh, don't try to be an idiot about it!" Randall snapped. "I can clearly see the sweat comin' off your forehead!"

Wiping his forehead, Mike could see the sweaty residue on his fingertips. He sighed, pretending to sound annoyed, as he answered, "The power's off, ya schmuck. That means no A.C., you get it?"

"Oh, I tell ya what I get." Randall remarked. "I get that you're lyin' about your lunchbox! If Celia were havin' lunch with you today, then why is it that she left without bringing _you_ along with her?!"

Randall had Mike and Sulley cornered, which was pretty evident from the suspecting look that Waternoose was giving them, having his hands on his hips and waiting for an answer from the two monsters. From behind Sulley, Kimberly detached her Proton Gun from her pack, expecting the worse to come. Meagan held her hand over Boo's mouth, doing her best to keep her calm.

"We're waitin', Wazowski," said Randall, as he was looming towards the nervous Mike.

Before Mike could have given some type of answer, the front entrance to the building suddenly flew open and a platoon of C.D.A. agents piled in, surrounding the area. One of them addressed Waternoose saying, "Sir! We'll have to escort you from the building! There's a large…_man_ outside, tearing everything apart!"

While the agent was explaining the situation to Waternoose, another had spotted Venkman, Tully, and Boo hiding behind Sulley and exclaimed, "OUTSIDERS DETECTED!!!"

"What?!" Waternoose cried in surprise.

"So much for our stealth advantage," grumbled Kimberly, right before she opened fire at the agents, letting her stream fly right over their heads. Her distraction worked, as the agents ducked simultaneously. Even Waternoose and Fungus ducked in fear of the deadly firepower, while Randall camouflaged his body, disappearing from the room.

Venkman urged Meagan and the two monsters to get their feet moving, before the monsters attempted to capture any of them. They bolted through the front doors, only to have been met with the huge, chaotic battle happening outside. The helicopters were throwing everything (_including_ a kitchen sink) at Willie. But it just seemed to only make the giant more pleased, as he saw the attack as one enjoyable game.

"I can't remembuh da last dime I had dis mulch fun!" He said with a chuckle, while jumping up and down and creating a massive tremor.

While Venkman and the others fought to maintain their balance, she realized that getting to the bottom of the paranormal disturbance in this strange world was a top priority at that moment. But they needed to get to someplace safe long enough to do so. "We've got to get out of here! You guys have somewhere we can go to get away from…well…_this_!" She gestured towards Willie, who was nibbling on one abandoned helicopter, like a baby with a rattle.

"We can high-tail it over to our place." Sulley suggested. "No way will they be able to find us there. And we'll be _far_ from this giant."

"Great! We can take my new car over there! Follow me!" Mike excitedly suggested, showing everyone the remote control to his car's security system.

Wazowski led them across the parking lot to a yellow, six-wheeled vehicle that had somewhat of a monstrous look to it. Before the group could get anywhere near it, however, Willie's enormous left foot suddenly came into view and stomped down hard over Mike Wazowski's new car, flattening it like a pancake.

Sulley, Venkman, Meagan, and Boo stared blankly at the sight, finding the sudden occurrence completely random. They slowly looked towards Mike, whom was practically beyond shocked, still having his remote control aimed to where the car originally was. Instinctively, his finger hit the "disarm" button on the controller, and they heard his destroyed car make a faint wail beneath Willie's gigantic foot.

"I'm cool with walking." Kimberly said. "How 'bout you guys?"

"Oh, yeah." Sulley agreed.

"Me, too." Meagan acknowledged.

All that came out from Mike's mouth was a shriek small enough for only dogs to hear. The others could only guess that it was a definite "yes."

* * *

It was highly awkward for Mike and Sulley to see as many outsiders running through the streets of Monstropolis, amidst the equal numbers of monsters. Every time an outsider tried to run from a monster, there was yet another monster running into them (and vice versa). There was a mass riot all over the city, and the C.D.A. were not much help in controlling it. At one point in the riot, some of the monsters began tipping over their vans, only to be met with the fierce blast of a device that resembled a fire hose, which would later be used to put out fires that began developing in some areas.

All of the screams and explosions frightened Boo more than she was at the sight of Willie the Giant. Meagan calmly shushed her and repeated said that all would be fine soon. Unfortunately, this assurance came within only a second before another scream erupted from a monster or an outsider. Both parties should take example from the cooperative attitude between Mike and Sulley and Kimberly, Meagan, and Boo, as there were things far worse that were happening than this.

The group continued themselves lucky that they made it to Mike and Sulley's apartment building, without getting lost in the chaos. Before they entered, the sound of a woman crying for help quickly caught their attention. "My baby! Where's my baby?!" They noticed the woman was a human-sized monster with fangs, four arms, and bright yellow fur. In addition, she wore a beautiful pink hat flowers on it—something that stood out pretty far from her monstrous appearance. And right next to her was a baby carriage that had been knocked over, with the baby missing from it.

Before Mike, Sulley, Venkman, or Meagan could've decided on whether or not if they wanted to help the female monster, a human suddenly dashed into the scene, carrying her child in his arms. However, once he approached her, she seemed absolutely terrified by his presence, going as far as to back away from him when he tried to hand the child to her.

"It's okay, ma'am." He assured. "Your baby's safe now."

The female monster just snatched her child from the man, inadvertently causing him to cry from the rough way it was handled. "You keep away from my baby, you…you…ANIMAL!" She screamed, before running away in terror with her baby.

Watching her as she left, the man just stood there in sighed and shrugged in disappointment. Nearby, Venkman was glancing at him and realizing how sad and alone he appeared there on the sidewalk, only trying to help someone in the middle of this wild situation. She moved away from Mike, Sulley, Meagan, and Boo and approached the man, feeling the desire in comforting him—maybe even helping him escape from all the madness.

It was at that moment, as she approached the man, that Kimberly had recognized the thirty-something man with the long, brown hair and handsome hazel eyes as her old boyfriend, Jonathan Barrett (also referred to as "J.B."). She should've known it to be him, after witnessing the heroic deed he had done, trying to mirror the superheroes that he often illustrated into his well-known comic books.

Needless to say, Venkman was more than surprised to see him there, as he normally was attracted to supernatural events such as this. "Well, I'll be…if it isn't Leonardo DiCaprio's twin brother."

J.B. spun around in surprise, the moment he heard Kimberly's voice. When he saw her in front of him, he smiled and said, "Kimberly?! Oh, wow! Thank God you're here, girl!" He gazed around at the insanity occurring around them, hearing yet another explosion and a scream in the distance. "What in the world is going on here?"

"That's what I'm gonna spend the next hours wracking my brain around, dude." Kimberly stated.

Out of nowhere, the screams all around Monstropolis suddenly ceased, just as a huge shadow loomed over the entire city, turning it pitch-black. The only light left came from a large swirling, glowing green mist of psycho kinetic energy, connecting to the once clear blue sky and transforming it to a dark, gray, cloudy scene in less than a second. Faint green flashes emerged from within the dark clouds every few moments, while the swirling mist of energy continued shooting upward.

The panic over the city resumed, once everyone realized that it wasn't just the end of one world that was coming, but possibly both. Rather than fearing each other, the outsiders and monsters feared whatever the source of the swirling mist could've been, keeping as far away from it as possible. Kimberly, Meagan, J.B., Mike, Sulley, and Boo immediately went inside the apartment building, upon witnessing the emergence of the mist.

And neither of them had even taken a moment to realize how the form of Randall Boggs materialized not very far from their location, watching them enter the apartment building with much suspicion brewing within him. "I'm onto you creatins now!"


	17. Story 17

"Aaah, Freak Out!"

The view from Mike and Sulley's apartment building was magnificent…at least during a much calmer day. Virtually anyone could see the entire city of Monstropolis from their living room window. For Kimberly Venkman and Jonathan Barrett, who were currently looking out through the window, it was a perfect spot to see where the source of the swirling mist of psycho-kinetic energy was coming from. It seemed to have come from the very center of the city.

The only question that remained was just the one that J.B. asked Kimberly, "So just exactly what is it?"

Kimberly shrugged in confusion. "The heck if I know. Normally, if Sean were here, he would know what it is right off. But if I had to guess, I'd say it's some kind of dimensional rift. It could possibly be the reason we're all in this strange world."

"Hey, what you call 'strange' we call 'normal'?" said Mike Wazowski, before he took a bite out of a purple squid sandwich.

Nearby, Meagan had successfully calmed down Boo, playing with her by gently bouncing her around on her lap. Sulley was lighting candles all over the dark atmosphere, handing some flashlights over to everyone who needed them. Once he got to Kimberly, he curiously asked her, "Will you be able to stop whatever this is that coming into our world?"

Venkman glanced over at her Proton Pack, which was sitting in the chair that Mike normally sat in. The device held power of monumental proportions and could confront almost any apparition, including demigods and long-dead sorcerers. But what was happening in Monstropolis was something that Kimberly had never seen before, and she doubted Spengler or J.G. did as well.

Answering Sulley's question, she shook her head and honestly said, "I really don't know, dude. This just isn't in my field of study."

"Isn't in your field of study?!" Mike exclaimed through a mouth full of mayonnaise, bread, and squid, spitting out fragments onto the floor. Before saying much more, he swallowed the food in his mouth and drank some unusual purple liquid from a glass. "You're a Ghostbuster for cryin' out loud! You face bizarre stuff every single day! How is this any different?"

"Hey! I don't know if you monsters have colleges here in the 'Land That Howie Mandel Forgot,' but I hold a PhD in psychology!" Kimberly retorted. "That means I specialize in figuring out who's screwy or not!"

"You mean you're a quack?" Wazowski remarked in surprise.

"I think the proper term is 'shrink', Mike." Sulley corrected.

"I'm not either one!!!" Venkman screamed in frustration. "I'm just a simple woman trying to get herself out of this mess, before it totally blows up in her face!!"

J.B. could see the stress on his ex-girlfriend's face, something he had seen too often before in situations like this. This, as she would call it, was a disaster of biblical proportions. And facing it all on her own was a burden he wished didn't have to fall upon her. But he still did whatever he could to lift it off from her, stepping into the argument between her and Mike.

Raising his hands in protest, he said to everyone, "Let's just take it easy and work together on this. I don't think putting it all on Kimberly would do much good for any of us." Kimberly smiled at him, feeling somewhat relieved to hear him stand up for her like that. It was good to know that J.B. still had some feelings for her, even if they weren't as intimate as she would've hoped.

"Okay, pretty boy." Mike spoke up, still sounding a little peeved. "How do you suggest we put our heads together on _this_? We don't know the first thing about cross-dimensional rifts or whatever!"

Meagan raised a suspecting eyebrow at Mike's comment. "I find that hard to believe, considering that you guys _work_ for a company that crosses between dimensions."

"That's different, kiddo!" Mike exclaimed. "We do that for business. This…This is beyond our own control."

Sulley was already in the process of following J.B.'s idea, thinking back to earlier in the factory when Fungus mentioned of a "glitch" in the system. It had to something they did in opening this "rift" or it had done something to their system, which he believed was a properly functioning one before that day.

"It's got to be something in the _Monsters, Inc._ mainframe." Sulley stated. "I hear the tech guys talk about it quite a bit. It's in the computer room of the sub level area. But you've gotta have an access card in order to get in."

"Then we'll just have to go back to _Monsters, Inc._ to get to the bottom of this…literally, I might add." Kimberly suggested.

"Hold it! Wait just one second!!" Mike frantically shouted. "Have you forgotten that there's a gigantic…_thing_ running around Monstropolis and tearing everything up?!"

Venkman just waved Wazowski's concern with a smirk and said, "Don't sweat it, one-eye." She walked over to her Proton Pack and petted it gently. "As long as I've got ol' Bessie here, he won't be botherin' us."

Right at that moment, the window suddenly flew open by itself, letting in a massive gust of wind that was developing from the swirling mist outside. It put out all of the candles that Sulley had lit, making the room fall completely dark again. J.B. rushed over to the window and closed it, double-checking to see if it was locked shut to prevent another incident like that.

Sulley scratched his head over the window's sudden opening. "I locked that thing shut a moment ago. I'm certain that I did."

"Never mind about that, Sulley." Mike uttered. "Let's just get outta here and take care of this mess, so I won't have to worry about lighting any more candles or…" When Mike tried turning on his flashlight, he was surprised to see how it wasn't coming on, no matter how much he shook and banged his hand against it. "What the…?! Sulley, didn't you put batteries in this thing?!"

"Of course I did," answered Sulley, before trying to turn on his own flashlight to no avail. "I _know_ that I did!"

Everyone else tried turning on their flashlights and discovered, just as Mike and Sulley had, that none of them were coming on. For a moment, Meagan thought hers did, but quickly realized that it was just a setback. She heard Boo whimpering and felt her shaking in her arms again, and she again did her best to calm her by saying, "Shhh…it's okay, sweetie. It's only the dark. No monsters are here." She suddenly noticed what she just said, upon glancing over at Mike and Sulley, and immediately corrected herself. "Except for the two in this room."

A loud, brief yelp suddenly emerged from Kimberly's mouth, nearly scaring the daylights out of everyone. J.B. then asked her, "What? What's wrong?"

"I just felt something pinch my butt!" Kimberly exclaimed. "I don't know whether to be frightened or flattered."

"Well, don't look at me." J.B. innocently remarked.

The contents on a nearby desk rattled, right before the desk itself turned over and hit the floor with a loud thud. It was an occurrence random and strange enough for Kimberly to immediately go to her Proton Pack. However, as she got right near it, the form of Randall Boggs suddenly materialized before her, blocking her path to the Proton Pack.

"No bustin' tonight, human!" He sneered at her, right before he swatted her across the face with his tail, knocking her to the floor.

The moment Sulley saw Randall in their apartment, he turned to Meagan and demanded, "Take Boo to the bedroom and lock the door!" He pointed in the direction to the room, knowing exactly where it was even in the darkened atmosphere. Meagan did as he told her and headed towards the bedroom, making sure not to trip along the way. As soon as she was inside the room, she slammed the door shut and locked it.

While J.B. went to check on Kimberly, Sulley charged towards Randall, roaring like a fierce lion. Randall vanished once again upon seeing him coming his way, leaving Sulley to trample some of the furniture instead. Mike could see Randall's form crawling over the walls and ceiling, knocking against several items and causing them to crash on the floor.

Wazowski eventually saw him near the fireplace and cried out his position to Sulley, pointing and repeatedly shouting, "There he is! There he is!"

Sulley roared again, as he got up and charged towards the fireplace. Unfortunately, all he was left tackling was air again, as he crashed headfirst into the fireplace and ended up getting his upper body stuck in the frame. Mike shook his head in disappointment and aggravation, rushing over to Sulley and pulling his large, furry tail. Sulley did his own part in popping himself out from the fireplace, rapidly moving his feet in running position and even crawling at the floor, while inside the fireplace he pushed his massive paws against the brick wall.

With Mike and Sulley occupied over their own situation, Kimberly and J.B. took it upon themselves to catch Randall. They spotted his form moving through several areas at an extreme speed, almost as if he had teleporting abilities. Venkman had the idea of splitting apart, making it easier to catch Randall. J.B. stood near the kitchen area, while Kimberly remained in the living room.

For a split second, J.B. spotted Randall's form crawling over the sink. Unknowingly becoming very excited, he shouted while charging towards the sink, "I've got him!" It was only at the last moment did he see how much of mistake he made in doing so, when watched Randall's transparent form crawl away from the sink, leaving J.B. to hit the faucet and accidentally detaching it. A stream of water sprayed into his face, drenching his hair to the point that it was completely covering his eyes.

Randall snickering as he departed from the kitchen, inadvertently creating his own blunder as he caught the attention of Kimberly, both hearing and seeing him as he came out. She immediately seized the opportunity when it was placed before her and snatched Randall. While squirming under Kimberly's grasp, he began to rematerialize, showing how displeased he was in being caught.

"You're gonna be payin' big time for this, Ghostbuster!" He threatened. "You'll be bustin' yourself, once I'm through with ya!"

Venkman fought to keep the monster wrapped in her arms, even while he was threatening her. "Oh, shut it, ya freak!"

In the kitchen, J.B. was able to attach the faucet back in its place. After taking a washcloth and drying his face and hair, he rushed out in time to see Randall finally caught in Kimberly's arms, albeit on the verge of escaping due to the increasing intensity in his squirms. He also noticed Sulley finally popping himself out from the fireplace—with little help from Mike—his upper half totally covered in soot.

Not taking a moment to let Sulley recollect himself, J.B. hastily told them, "Guys! She's got him! Knock him out, before he escapes!!"

Sulley turned and saw the squirming Randall in Kimberly's arms, once again roaring with ferocity, as he lifted his fist high and charged. As Kimberly and Randall saw him coming, Randall panicked and did the one thing that he should've done in the beginning: elbow Venkman in the stomach, a spot that monsters were taught was the most vulnerable area in the body. And lucky for this knowledge, he was freed from Kimberly's grasp.

Once he felt her grip loosen, he camouflaged himself again and slipped right out of her arms. Holding nothing but thin air in her arms, Kimberly realized Sulley was coming towards her, still with the intent of knocking out a monster that was no longer in her restraint. And before she could've alerted him of it, a large blue bundle of fur smacked her hard against the left side of her head, instantly knocking her out. Everything seemed to be moving a slow-motion, as she was falling towards the floor. She even heard Sulley say "sorry" in a huge, deep voice that lasted what felt like forever. After that, all went black and silent.

* * *

Inside the bedroom, Meagan was nervously pacing back and forth, while Boo was sitting on the large, wide bed that could've only belonged to Sulley. She heard all of the commotion erupting from outside, wondering if it was her friends who were winning or Randall. The last thing she did hear was the sound of a body dropping to the floor, before the next ten minutes were only dead silence.

"Do you think they might've got him?" She asked Boo, completely forgetting the fact that she was only three years old. Only the fright on Boo's face could've answered Meagan's question, and it was unfortunately not the one she was looking for.

Turning away from Boo, Tully moved to the door and placed her right ear against it, trying to make out any sounds from the other side. Even a sneeze would've sufficed, as long as there were signs of life. Unfortunately, she had to deal with a simple knock on the door, which she felt bouncing against her head and ear once it came.

She immediately backed away from the door, her nervousness growing as she stared at it, wondering whom the knocker might've been. Her curiosity and nervousness ceased, as soon as she heard the voice of Jonathan Barrett. "Meagan! It's me! Open up!"

Tully sighed in relief and went to the door. But when he hand got near the doorknob, a thought suddenly occurred to her. Her anxiety returning, she asked, "How do I know it's really you? You could just be one of the monsters disguising its voice to _sound_ like you!"

"Um…I don't know…I'm wearing _Axe_ cologne?!"

It seemed to have been enough for Meagan to believe as she calmly said, "Oh, okay. Sorry about that." She unlocked the door and allowed J.B. inside, noticing the concern registering on his face. "What's going on? Did you guys get rid of Randall?"

"Well, he's gone." J.B. replied. "But I wouldn't say that he's _totally_ gotten rid of."

"Then we just got to get Dr. Venkman to take care of him with her awesome monster-bustin' skills!"

J.B. scratched the back of his head, looking a little sheepish of what Tully just said. "Uh, yeah…about that…" He motioned for her to follow him out of the room. When she had done so, she was met with the shocking sight of Kimberly Venkman lying unconscious on the floor, with a shameful Sulley and a frustrated Mike standing over her. Being so surprised, she barely even heard J.B. ask her, "They _have_ given you proper training, right?" She didn't answer. "RIGHT?!"


	18. Story 18

"Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better"

After the crisis involving Willie the Giant, whom was continuing his destructive fun through the rest of Monstropolis (with the C.D.A. still trying their best efforts to stop him), a large metal dome was placed over the _Monsters, Inc._ factory to anything big from getting in and anything small from getting out. The only small things that were coming in were the lines of C.D.A. vans through a small garage-type entrance only big enough to suit the vehicles. There was an agent inside of a booth near the entranceway, checking in and out vans.

What was inside of these C.D.A. vans were kept classified by the agents on demand from Mister Waternoose. There weren't just more C.D.A. agents in them. On direct orders from Waternoose, the agents were supposed to have gathered all of the outsiders running wild through Monstropolis and bring them to the _Monsters, Inc._ factory.

Amongst the groups of outsiders being brought to _Monsters, Inc._ were Phil Diffy (a 20-year-old kid who traveled through time from the 22nd century, six years ago), his girlfriend Keely Teslow, Yzma (the former advisor of Emperor Kuzco), and the very peeved fashion designer known as Cruella de Vil. They were all placed inside of the same C.D.A. van, forced to share the same space with each other, as well as breathe the same air—much to the chagrin of Cruella, who repeatedly banged her fists against the sides of the van in anger.

"I demand to be released!!!" Cruella screamed. "Do you people know who I am?! I'll have you sued for this! Sued, you hear?!"

Phil, Keely, and even Yzma were all covering their ears from the horrendous shrieking that Cruella had been doing for thirty minutes straight. As if ending up in a strange parallel dimension in their usual nightwear wasn't horrible enough, being cooped up with Cruella was just torture.

"Will you shut up?!" Yzma demanded.

"Uh, Miss de Vil?" uttered Keely, speaking for the first time since being captured by the yellow-suited, multiple-armed monsters. "I don't think they can hear you."

Phil knocked on the steel, hollow structure that he was sitting against. "These are one hundred percent titanium-thick walls. I can't even hear the engine running outside."

Cruella just scoffed at her three fellow captives. "What do you all know? You're just two adolescent children and one dried-up old prune!"

Yzma immediately got into Cruella's face the moment she called her by that name, not appearing all too pleased with it. Through gritted teeth she said, "Who're you calling 'dried-up', you walking carpet?!"

It seemed things got just much worse the moment Yzma and Cruella engaged in a shouting match, with both women shouting the highest over each other. Phil and Keely counted the guys driving the van lucky for not being able to listen to all of the screaming that occurred in that compartment, because it was enough to make someone go deaf for hours.

However, they were spared of any further bickering, as soon as they felt the van come an abrupt stop. Yzma and Cruella fell silent, wondering along with Phil and Keely what happened to cause the van to stop. After a few moments had passed, the door to the compartment suddenly opened, letting in the fresh air from outside that made things less stuffy.

Phil, Keely, Yzma, and Cruella noticed a group of people and monsters standing outside. It was Meagan Tully, Jonathan Barrett, Mike Wazowski, and James P. Sullivan, with a still unconscious Kimberly Venkman draped over Sulley's shoulder and a calm, happy Boo carried by Mike. The sight of these strangers, standing together and not afraid whatsoever, puzzled the four people in the van.

"Who're you guys?" Phil asked.

It was then that Keely noticed the Proton Pack strapped to Meagan's back, which seemed to have been making her knees buckle a bit. "Oh, man! Phil! It's a Ghostbuster! She's here to rescue us!"

Meagan seemed confused at first from the way Keely was pointing at her and telling Phil this misleading information. Only when the massive weight of the Proton Pack reminded her that she had the appearance of a _real_ Ghostbuster, she shook her head and said, "Oh, no, no! I'm just one of the new Junior Ghostbusters." She gestured to the unconscious Venkman on Sulley's shoulder and added, "She's one of the original four."

"Why is she asleep on that guy's shoulder?" Phil inquired.

Before Meagan or her friend could've explained why, they were interrupted by Cruella and Yzma, who pushed aside Phil and Keely upon making their way out of the van. "Never mind the twenty questions!" Cruella angrily yelled.

"Yes, let's get out of here, while the getting's good." Yzma added.

J.B. suddenly stood in their way, raising his hands up to stop them. "We know just how you people can get out of here. But it's going to involve going to the place that these guys were taking you to." As he told them this, he pointed to the nearby sidewalk, where two monsters were sitting, tied up and gagged with nothing other than their boxers on. Apparently, these were the same yellow-suited monsters that captured Phil, Keely, Yzma, and Cruella.

"Where was it that they were taking us?" Phil asked.

"Yeah, what's going on here?" Keely inquired.

"We can explain on the way there." Meagan insisted. "Every second we spend talking, those monsters are putting innocent people in danger."

Sulley set Kimberly's unconscious body into the van compartment, before picking up the pair of yellow suits they snatched from the agents, handing one over to Mike—which was appropriately his size. "C'mon, Mike. These will help us get past the security guarding the factory."

Wazowski didn't seem all too pleased as he put on the yellow suit through his way into the front seat of the van, grumbling under his breath, "Power surges, Ghostbusters, fellow employees attacking me in my home…I'm startin' to wish I _did_ go to lunch with Celia."

* * *

The disguises worked to the group's advantage, as Mike and Sulley were able to gain access into the dome surrounding _Monsters, Inc._ Upon arriving there, they witnessed something that they wouldn't have imagined in a million years: large groups of outsiders being escorted into the complex, looking very frightened, very angry, and very confused. It was a sight that made them both think about their line of work in scaring people.

Because of the soundproof dome and gags placed in the mouths of the escorted outsiders, the _Monsters Inc._ technicians were able to get the power in the factory running again. Several C.D.A. vans parked in rows outside the complex. And in the center of it all were Mister Waternoose and Randall, both grinning in a way that seemed almost sinister.

Sulley parked the van right across from the two monsters and climbed out with Mike. Waternoose and Randall directed their attention to them, not appearing to recognize either of them with the yellow suits on. Waternoose had been carrying a clipboard, documenting the number of outsiders being brought inside, when he asked them, "And how many have you boys brought in?"

"Seven, sir," answered Sulley, his voice unrecognizable through the static-filled intercom built in his suit.

Waternoose and Randall both chuckled with glee from the number. "With as many as we've got now, we'll have enough power to last us for generations," stated Waternoose.

"Some of these twerps we won't even have to waste the Extractor on." Randall said. "They're frightened enough as it is…ready to scream their lungs out 'til they run dry."

"And once they do, it'll be easy to dispose of them with our 'new friends'." Waternoose added.

As their boss and fellow employee were exchanging words, it became clear to Sulley and Mike that their fears had been confirmed. Just as Meagan Tully said they would, Waternoose and Randall were taking advantage of the "Outsider Situation" by containing every single one that had entered Monstropolis and extracting their screams to obtain a large supply of power for the city. They were shocked and appalled by this evil plan, feeling ashamed of being _Monsters, Inc._ employees.

"Now then," said a delighted Waternoose, turning his attention back to Sulley and Mike, "open the compartment and release the subjects."

"You've got it…_boss_." Mike said with a scorn that could barely be detected through his electronic voice, as he pulled down the lever that began opening the door to the compartment.

Waternoose and Randall stood by the rear of the van, eagerness filling up inside of them to see the poor souls that were brought to the factory. Halfway into the opening, the smiles of Waternoose and Randall quickly faded, when they found themselves staring down the barrel of a Proton Gun, wielded by Meagan Tully.

"What the…?!" Randall exclaimed, as he saw the group of Meagan Tully, Jonathan Barrett, Phil Diffy, Keely Teslow, Cruella de Vil, and Yzma inside of the van compartment.

Boo was there as well, carried in the careful hands of Keely, as she shouted out to the two monsters, "Boo!"

"What is the meaning of this?!" Waternoose angrily said, just as he watched the two yellow-suited monsters disrobe themselves to reveal the identities of Sulley and Mike. "Wazowski? Sullivan?! You two have betrayed this company?!?!"

"No more than you have, sir." Sulley retorted, feeling very hurt. "I've worked here for a very long time and never have I seen the company name tainted in such a way. What you're doing here is…immoral!"

"What I'm doing is taking an opportunity when it is given to me, Sullivan!" Waternoose remarked. "And I will not let you or your 'friends' judge my character!" He then turned to Randall and gave him a nod, which was the signal for him to "take care" of the traitors.

Randall hissed like a snake, as he advanced on Meagan and the others. And on instinct (or pure fright), Meagan fired the Proton Gun at Randall, unleashing an intense, powerful stream. It went right over his head and shot across the area, connecting with one of the parked C.D.A. vehicles. The explosion that erupted from the blast created a chain reaction that destroyed other following vehicles.

All C.D.A. agents went into panic mode, extremely intimidated by the weapon that Meagan wielded in her hands. They all started exiting the dome, alerting others to abandon their duties and evacuate as well. Taking advantage of this, Sulley and Mike urged their friends to follow them into the building, with J.B. carrying the unconscious Kimberly Venkman in his arms.

Before entering, J.B. stopped and addressed the captive outsiders. "Everybody come with us. We can help you get out of here." They saw no other choices available and freely decided to follow them, hoping to make a quick escape from this nightmare.

Nearby, Waternoose and Randall were fighting to get past the barrage of C.D.A. agents rushing past them. As soon as all of them were out of the dome, the two evil monsters took notice of their adversaries entering the complex, with their ticket to years of unlimited power in tow. Angered and frustrated, they rushed towards the entrance, growling while doing so.

* * *

Fungus hoped with all three of his hearts that Waternoose would pay him big for working under such immense pressure that day, with all that had happened in the previous hours. He was barely able to walk across the main lobby, being on his feet for most of the day, not once having a coffee break. In his hands, he carried the access card to the computer room downstairs, along with a clipboard that held a checklist of things he needed to do.

The monster was just on the verge of stopping in his tracks and nodding off to sleep, until he heard his name brusquely called by someone across the room. He turned and spotted James P. Sullivan and Mike Wazowski, accompanied by a platoon of outsiders. He nearly jumped out of his skin from the unsettling display, too exhausted to even run for his life.

"W-W-What do y-you g-guys want?!" Fungus stammered.

"We want you to take us to the computer room," demanded J.B., approaching Fungus and towering over him with a glare in his eye. "No questions asked!"

"Duh, um, s-sure t-t-thing." Fungus acknowledged.

Sulley and Mike were already in the process of leading the other outsiders into the workroom. "You guys go find out the source of the disturbance," ordered Sulley. "We'll go get everyone back to their homes."

The group split up into the two areas, engaging in their own respective tasks. It wasn't very long afterward when Waternoose and Randall arrived, splitting themselves up as well, with Waternoose taking the workroom and Randall taking the computer room.

Randall followed down the same hallway that Meagan, J.B., and Fungus had taken, camouflaging himself into the environment to avoid being seen by them. Once he had caught up with them, he saw them entering an elevator with the computer room being the only access to it. He quickly crawled his way into it, before the doors sealed shut.

* * *

Mike and Sulley found themselves doing one hectic job getting everyone back into their bedrooms, having to find just the right access card with the right person's face printed on it to take them home. They were successful in getting twenty people back to their rooms, before Waternoose arrived and demanded, "Stop this moment! Or I'll…I'll…"

_BANG!_

The blow came so swiftly that Waternoose barely felt its sting, as he instantly collapsed to the floor. Behind him was a slug-looking monster with green-brown skin and a bit of grey hair on top of her head and wearing only a red sweater. In her left hand, she carried a scream canister, which she had used to hit Waternoose over the head and knock him out.

"With all due respect, sir," she said with a very rough voice, "no one puts my C.D.A. boys in the line of fire, unless I say so."

Sulley and Mike recognized the monster as the resident bookkeeper of the _Monsters, Inc._ factory, Roz. It was Wazowski who even expressed his surprise upon seeing her when he asked, "What're you doing here?!"

"I was on my way to C.D.A. headquarters to deal with the current 'situation', when I remembered that I had to tell ya that you forgot to file your paperwork…as usual." Roz explained. "But then I was notified how the C.D.A. was being used for illegal activities, so I ran my way here to deal with it."

Sulley seemed highly bewildered over how Roz was talking of the C.D.A. as if she were part of their organization. "Wait…since when have you been close contact with the C.D.A.?"

"Since I've been the leader of them, Sullivan," answered Roz, flashing her identification card as proof to them, much to their immediate surprise. "What's going on here is no system glitch. The boundaries between our world and the outsiders' world are interfering with that of another…and it's opening right beneath this factory."

Mike shook his head in confusion. "Roz, what're you…?"

_BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!_

There was a sudden earthquake that came over the complex, shaking its foundation and causing everyone in the room to fall, except for Roz. From what some of them could tell, the source of the quake came from beneath the factory, which where Roz claimed the source of their situation to be coming from.

"Your friends down there are in danger," stated Roz, her grotesque face not showing one hint of concern of what was happening. "If they get near the doorway, they could run risk of getting sucked in."

"Sucked into what?" Phil inquired.

"Who cares?!" Cruella exclaimed in frustration. "It's their problem now. We are all going home!"

Roz let out a deep moan before addressing Cruella. "I hate to burst yer bubble, miss. But whatever this is that's coming into our worlds grows, then ya won't have a home to go to."

Hearing what Roz had been saying, Keely suddenly reached the inspiration to _really_ save the world…and another at that. But she needed some confirmation from Phil before she did so. She turned to him and asked, "Do you still have the Wizard with you?"

"Yeah, of course." Phil affirmed. "I always carry it with me on certain chances, even when I sleep."

"Maybe we can use it to help the Ghostbusters." Keely suggested. "You know, like actually helping them for once."

Phil cautiously pondered Keely's suggestion, wondering just how much trouble it would get them into. He wanted to return home so much and be done with this crazy evening. But that would be impossible to do, if what Roz said was correct, and they wouldn't have a home to return to. What he and Keely do might not only help the Ghostbusters, but spare their homes and the people they loved as well. And with that notion, he nodded in agreement with Keely's proposal and assisted her in going down to the sub level of the factory, where their friends were.

Upon taking the elevator that led down to the computer room, another massive earthquake had come over the building, and they suddenly were falling rapidly down the elevator shaft rather than gently descending it as they were. Phil and Keely hung on for dear life, bracing themselves for what could've only been their imminent doom.

That was, however, before a sudden burst of green light flashed from beneath and engulfed them. They no longer felt themselves falling…they weren't feeling much of anything at the moment.


	19. Story 19

"Like A Prayer"

The large double doors that covered the entrance to Notre Dame let out a heavy, eerie creaking noise while being opened by J.G. Stantz, allowing Sean Spengler, Diana Zeddemore, Todd and Riley Daring, and himself to walk inside the wonderfully radiant cathedral. It looked just as brand new on the inside as it did on the outside, which the group deemed as just ridiculously impossible, considering that the building had to be over five hundred years old.

Spengler had already been scanning the building's interior, just as he had its exterior upon the moment the five of them arrived in the area. He expected the wings of the P.K.E. meter to go up, in response to the surge of paranormal activity that had to be surrounding them. However, the device wasn't picking up anything, much to Spengler's surprise.

Diana was oblivious to Sean's lack of discovery, asking him while gazing around the cathedral in shock, "Tell me you're getting some readings from all of this, man!"

"I'm not reading anything." Spengler replied. "The P.K.E. thinks it's just a normal, well-structured building."

"Dude, that's unreal!" Todd told him. "Even I know that Notre Dame is supposed to exist _only_ in Paris, France! I've seen the…"

"Yes, Todd! We get it! You've seen the Disney movie!" Riley interjected in frustration. "Seriously, is that your only source of historical knowledge? Don't you ever watch P.B.S.?"

Todd had to ponder that question for a moment before he answered, "Only when I'm watchin' _Sesame Street_. I loves me some Cookie Monster!"

The area was partially lit with torches that hung on rows of columns. But the spaces behind them remained dark, allowing one shadowed figure to sneak behind them and watch the five visitors, without fear of being spotted. It was a short, hunchbacked figure wearing a dark blue cloak that hid its misshapen face, its pair of blue eyes peeking under and focused heavily on Diana Zeddemore.

"It doesn't matter what readings the P.K.E. is getting on this place." Stantz stated. "This place is obviously a manifestation, just like the Headless Horseman was a moment ago."

"You could be onto something, Jay." Sean acknowledged. "The moment we came upon the source of tonight's situation, that's when the Horseman arrived and attacked, leading us away from where we were intending on going. We're obviously disturbing whatever or whomever it is that's behind everything."

"We're disturbing _it_?!" Diana exclaimed, finding that very hard to believe. "It is the one that's disturbing us…disturbing _me_, most importantly!" She then stood in the very center of the room and angrily shouted, "Come out where we can see you, coward! Let's end this now!!"

Just then, a shushing noise came out from within the shadows, as did the hooded, cloaked figure that stepped out into the light and revealed itself. Diana, J.G., and Sean were quite alarmed by its sudden presence, reaching for their Proton Guns in preparation for an attack. However, they stopped themselves, as soon as they realized the figure was a human male…at least that was what they could tell from its pale, slightly hairy arms.

"Please, please!" He calmly exclaimed. "Don't shout. It's not wise to scream in a church…especially when my master can possibly hear you. The walls are thick enough for even the doves perched high above the rooftop to be frightened off by."

Hearing the gentleness in this young stranger's voice, Diana almost felt ashamed of herself for doing such a thing. Manifestation or not, she knew better than to shout in anger while in God's house. "I-I'm sorry," she told the stranger. "I was just so tired…so exhausted of all that my friends and I have been through this evening."

"Oh, there's no reason to be angry when you're under sanctuary in Notre Dame," claimed the hooded stranger. "Everything is so pleasant here, especially in the bell tower, where I…" The stranger suddenly stopped, as his hands went near his hooded face in shock as if realizing his blunder. "Oh…Oh, my! No…no, I've said too much already! My master will certainly punish me for certain!"

Diana raised her hands in protest, a little concerned and yet puzzled by the stranger's sudden anxiety. "Wait…Who's your master? I promise we won't tell him anything. We just…"

"You must leave here now!" The stranger demanded, urgency creeping into his tone of voice. "If my master catches you here, it'll certainly be…"

"Quasimodo!!!" A stern, hollow voice echoed throughout the room, speaking from within the shadows. Within a brief moment, the speaker himself stepped into the light, revealing his identity to be Judge Claude Frollo, the minister of justice for Paris, France back in 1502. He had a very serene yet ominous type of appearance, with a long black and purple robe and triangular-shaped hat to match.

The Ghostbusters and the Daring siblings were taken aback by Frollo's presence there, far much than they were from the fact that they were standing in the Notre Dame cathedral. But it was Riley who pointed out the most surprising fact of all, when she asked the hooded stranger, "_You_ are Quasimodo…the 'Hunchback of Notre Dame'."

The hooded stranger let out a deep sigh, before he pulled back the hood and showed his misshapen face to the visitors. He was indeed the bell-ringer of Notre Dame Legend, Quasimodo, believed by many who lived in Paris to be a monster that was raised by the distrusted Claude Frollo. Of course, from recently conversing with him, Diana would beg to differ.

"Quasimodo, what have I told you about interacting with guests?" Frollo inquired, sounding very displeased.

The misshapen bell-ringer did his best to hide his face with his hands, while he addressed his adoptive father. "I…I was only a-alerting them of the cathedral rules, Ma-Master. The woman was upset and felt the desire to scream. But I-I-I told h-her that she needn't to fret of trivial things, while inside of Notre Dame. Because we treat one another with kindness and love, m-much like you have to me, Master."

And right on cue, after Quasimodo's comment, Todd let out a fake sneeze that he incorporated the statement "Yeah, right" into. Riley glanced over at her brother and tried to refrain from laughing as she said, "Bless you, Todd."

Frollo glared at the group standing before them, his eyes directed toward each member, until they stopped directly on Diana Zeddemore. The sight of her brought Frollo back to a moment in his life that he dared himself never to remember again, due to the sheer displeasure of it all. However, Diana brought it all back to him, and he felt a discomforting desire to keep her there long enough to satisfy only himself.

He turned to Quasimodo, slightly rubbing his chin in thoughtful motion, and requested, "Set a table for our guests upstairs, Quasimodo. They all look a bit tired and hungry."

"Dude, unless you've got a Big Mac stashed somewhere in this place, there ain't no way I'm eating anything you've got." Todd complained, right before Riley slapped her hand across his mouth, keeping him from saying much more that would displease Frollo.

"We _really_ have to oblige, Your Lordship." J.G. stated, starting to back towards the door they came through. "There's just too much that we've got to get back to doing this evening."

Frollo glared so heavily at J.G. that his eyes began to turn red…literally. Stantz suddenly felt himself become paralyzed, no longer able to back away any further towards the front door. He then started walking towards Frollo, looking so stiff that he almost gave off a zombie-like appearance. Of course, it did not take a strange way of walking to clue Diana, Sean, and the Daring siblings that something was wrong with J.G.

"Jay…what're you doing, man?" Diana asked.

Stantz did not answer and instead continued walking, until he was standing right beside Frollo. The minister of justice sternly told the visitors, "I'm afraid that I'll have to insist that you stay…if you wish to know why I brought you into 'The Seventh Circle'."

Zeddemore and Spengler both exchanged stunned glances at the revelation of their exact location. Diana felt the need to double-check with Sean, being as shocked as she was, when she asked him, "Does he mean 'Seventh Circle' as in…?"

"Oh, yeah," answered Spengler, with a nervous nod.


	20. Story 20

"God Help The Outcasts"

Quasimodo fought to keep his hands from shaking under the intense nervousness that he had been feeling, ever since his master, Judge Claude Frollo, insisted on their visitors—the two children and the three adults with the unusual devices strapped to their backs (one of whom reminded him of someone special from his past)—stay for a feast, which Quasimodo was preparing for them. He thought, upon grabbing the wine, milk, bread, and turkey from off a nearby counter, if his master would intend on harming these kind souls.

Frollo had already done quite a bit to J.G. Stantz already, after hypnotizing him only a moment ago. He sat there at the large, squared dinner table with Frollo, Diana, Sean, and the Daring siblings, rubbing his eyes and his temples while his face registered a slight discomfort.

Noticing the look on his face, Diana concernedly asked him, "Are you doing alright, man?"

Stantz gave a small nod. "Just don't ask me what's the square root of one thousand right now, and I should be fine."

"Of course you will be," stated Frollo, still maintaining a calm demeanor. "I don't intend harming any of you, before I can have the opportunity to explain why I have brought you to 'The Seventh Circle'." As Frollo was speaking, Quasimodo brought over the food, handing plates to each of the table's occupants. The misshapen bell-ringer hoped that what his master was telling their guests was the truth, as he had been known in the past to go back on his word.

Regardless of the good-looking food that was placed before them, neither the Ghostbusters nor the Daring siblings had too much of an interest in eating. That was at least until Todd began munching down on the turkey and bread and gulping down heavily on the milk. After a short while, he began to notice the others staring at him awkwardly, and he said in defense, "What? I ain't gonna let this all go to waste! I'm hungry, man!!"

While Riley shook her head in embarrassment over her brother's weak sense of morals (as well as his poor table manners), Spengler focused on the subject of their current location. "So why exactly have you brought us here, Your Lordship? Certainly you have better things to do than interfere with the living."

"I assure you, Dr. Spengler, that all here in the Circle are very much living." Frollo remarked. "Our earthly forms might be deceased, but it is the forms we take once we've crossed over that are resurrected for special purposes."

"Special purposes?" J.G. repeated those last puzzling words in his statement, trying to figure out their meaning. "Like what? Coming into our realm and wreaking havoc with a demonic canine?!"

Frollo raised an eyebrow at Stantz. "I have not the slightest idea what you're talking about, my boy. Not to my recollection have I summoned any 'demonic canine' to your realm nor would I have the power to do so."

"But you _do_ in fact have the power to summon a 'Headless Horseman' like in the story of 'Sleepy Hollow'!" Diana retorted.

A small chuckle emerged from within Frollo, as he admittedly said with a grin, "I must say that I _am_ guilty as charged. How intrigued I was in meeting him, when I first entered the Circle. He's just the man I need to enforce my law, as soon as the new world has been created."

"This new world you speak of is only going to tear apart the fabric of space and time, ending all life on both forms of reality." Spengler informed. "One ghost has attempted it even before!"

"Yes, the once-powerful sorceress, Maleficent," uttered Frollo, who surprised the three Ghostbusters with his knowledge of her. "She along with myself, Ursula the Sea Witch, and Shan Yu of the Hun army became the enforcers of the Circle, once we all had deceased from the mortal world. We were each granted extraordinary powers from the almighty Chernabog, who had seen us as potential keys to bringing Armageddon upon your realm. Unfortunately, only one of us could have entered as a half-mortal, as the door to the Circle had been sealed for centuries beneath your city."

J.G. began to think back to the previous year, when he first met "Vanessa," the mortal form of Ursula. It dawned upon him that at the time they first met in his bookstore, it was then that Chernabog's master plan for Armageddon must've come into fruition. He sighed as he stated, "It was right in front of me the whole time, and I was totally oblivious to it."

"Yes," said Frollo, with a grin and a nod. "You and your friends were the only thing standing in our god's way, Dr. Stantz. By eliminating each of you, we were granted a chance at placing our reign into your realm for all eternity. But, unfortunately, one other party's revenge plan also stood in our way…"

"Hades." Spengler said.

The grin on Frollo's face faded while he uttered the God of the Underworld's name. "Hades…his revenge against what you all had done to him and Gozer, four years prior, tangled within our plans. He was only useful with his godlike powers, something much needed for bringing about Armageddon."

"But the Underworld is of a higher circle than the Seventh," remarked Spengler, reaching back to the knowledge gained from _Tobin's Spirit Guide_. "It would be unimaginable for both circles to coexist or else there would be unwelcome anarchy, especially considering your forms of existence."

Frollo's grin returned once more. "You _are_ the brightest one of the group, Dr. Spengler."

"Coming from you, I'd doubt that as a compliment." Sean remarked.

"Fair enough." Frollo stated. "But, yes…the Underworld consists of the dead souls, while the Seventh Circle contained ones that were still partially living. Neither can coexist or their spirits would end up in forever limbo. However, Maleficent maintained a power that could corrupt any soul, even that of a God's. And it was that power that allowed her to overshadow Hades."

"For only a limited time." Diana boldly added. "Once we shut that power down, not only did we take the witch out of the god, but we also took out the witch herself soon afterward."

"For a price, no less." Frollo contradicted.

"Yeah, yeah…we re-unlocked the door between our world and that of the Underworld, which is the reason there's a ten-ton demonic canine out there," said Diana, not sounding that all intimidated. "You're not telling us something we don't already know, bucko."

Frollo shook his head negatively and then focused upon Sean and asked, "You _still_ haven't told them about Alexis Embers, have you?"

J.G. and Diana exchanged a quick confused glance. They looked towards Spengler and J.G. asked, sounding very concerned, "What about Alexis?"

Sean seemed a little worried of telling them and had to force himself to do so, otherwise he would run the risk of Frollo revealing it instead, which was something he didn't want to bring upon his friends. He wanted to wait for a more reasonable time to tell them; but considering all that they had been through that evening, that time might as well have been a better time than any other.

"Because…" He began, taking a deep breath, "…because of the strong levels of energy within the advanced, untested Proton Pack I had given her to fight Maleficent with, a part of Alexis died that night on the roof of the Tipton. But the intense psycho-kinetic energy from the dimensional portal Maleficent came through that counteracted against it had left the remaining half of her still living."

J.G. and Diana could not believe what Spengler was telling them. "Are you telling us that Alexis is…" Diana began her question, knowing full well that the last part of it was going to sound totally ridiculous, yet she just couldn't bring herself to finish it.

Instead, J.G. did with a panicked tone of voice. "…A ZOMBIE?!?!"

Spengler shook his head. "No, not a zombie. She still has her conscious mind. She's just…" He hesitated with an explanation, because he had none to give for them. This was something that was beyond the usual paranormal science that he studied, and it confused him greatly.

"It is no matter of explaining, Dr. Spengler." Frollo stated. "The Underworld will claim of their new member, as soon as the war comes."

"Oh, perfect. _Another_ one!" Diana exclaimed, with rolled eyes.

"This is not another of your feeble mortal wars, gyp…I mean, Miss Zeddemore." The slip of the tongue in Frollo's statement perked up Diana's ears slightly, wondering just what he was intending on calling her. "This will be a war unlike any you've witnessed before. That is why your world _must_ come to an end tonight, so that no mortal souls may stand in the way of it."

On that note, Diana shot up from the table and detached her Proton Gun from her pack, aiming it directly at Frollo. "I'm sorry to say that will _not_ happen in my book, Your Lordship!"

Frollo smiled at her, not showing the slightest bit of coercion. "How impressive it is that you resemble that gypsy witch, when you are like this. My dear, you are the spinning image of Esmeralda…a reincarnation, just as the great Chernabog predicted to me. You're strong-willed and brave, just like her."

Diana looked at Frollo with such bewilderment and confusion that she could barely even believe a word of what he was saying. "You are one _crazy_ dude…even after death, you are _still_ insane."

Frollo glared heavily at her, the same way he had done so with J.G. Her body suddenly went rigid and the Proton Gun gripped in her hands was suddenly pointed towards J.G., Sean, and the Daring siblings. The four of them stared at her in fright, knowing exactly what was happening and not having any idea of how to stop it.

Quasimodo, seeing what his master was doing to her, suddenly panicked as just what he feared would happen was about to. He reached down at the bottle of wine that he brought along with the milk for the feast, popping the cork and spraying its contents all over Frollo's eyes. The minister of justice screamed in agony, as he felt the citric acid stinging his eyes and dropping his hypnotic hold over Diana.

She blinked twice and cringed over the sudden headache she felt, while her friends quickly removed themselves from the table. With Frollo distracted from the pain in his eyes, Quasimodo urged the Ghostbusters and the Daring siblings to follow him. "I'll help you escape from here," he told them, as they were practically leaping their way down the stairs.

Frollo was forced to use the cloth from his robe to wipe the citric liquid from his eyes. Once it was completely out, he opened them wide and allowed the glowing red energy to emit from them. He viciously growled in anger, cursing the name of the person responsible for his pain in a deeper, darker side of his own voice. "Quasimodo!!!!!!!!"


	21. Story 21

"Dirty Diana"

"**QUASIMODO!!!!!!!!!!!**"

Frollo's demonic-sounding voice echoed throughout the cathedral, shaking its very foundation, as Quasimodo lead the Ghostbusters and the Daring siblings downstairs. Never before had the misshapen bell-ringer heard his master sound so viciously enraged. However, he didn't always live with his master in "The Seventh Circle." In fact, as hard as he often tried, he couldn't remember how exactly he got there with him.

Fortunately, Quasimodo did know of a way to get them out, which he happily shared with his new friends. "The God of the Seventh Circle, Lord Chernabog, had always spoken of a door within Bald Mountain that works as a gateway into your world. That is where you should go, if you wish to escape from this nightmare."

As soon as the group reached the room they entered in, they stopped after Riley suggested of Quasimodo, "Come with us! You're a kind soul, Quasimodo. You don't belong in a place like this."

"I'm afraid that I cannot," said the woeful Quasimodo. "My master told me that I'm forever condemned to live here with him. Lord Chernabog wishes it, so I must oblige to his command."

Riley shook her head in disagreement. "I refuse to believe that!"

"Riley, ya heard what he said!" Todd exclaimed in frustration. "He's stuck here, and there's nothing we can do about it!"

"Our Aunt Fanny there's nothing we can do about it!" Riley retorted.

An awkward, confused expression appeared on Todd's face after that comment from his sister as he uttered, "We have an aunt named 'Fanny'?!"

"The point is that we are _all_ going to leave this dreadful place." Riley promised. "No one's going to get left behind!"

While Todd was rolling his eyes over his sister's overdramatic attitude, Diana's were rolling as well but for a whole different purpose. They were rolling to the point that only the whites in them were noticeable, and when J.G. began to take notice, he suddenly reacted with surprise. "Dye…are you alright? What's wrong?!" There was no answer from her, which made Stantz just as cautious. "Guys, something's wrong with Diana!"

The others turned and noticed what J.G. had, quickly becoming as cautious as he was—especially in the case of Quasimodo. He ran to her and grabbed her by the arms, trying to shake her back into a conscious state. "Wake up, Miss Zeddemore!" She didn't respond…so Quasimodo tried an alternative method. "Wake up…Esmeralda."

Diana's eyes suddenly stopped rolling and focused solely upon Quasimodo. For the first time since he first met her, he hadn't realized just how green they were—just like Esmeralda's were. One of her black-gloved hands reached up and touch the side of Quasimodo's face, as she passionately said (in a voice that wasn't entirely her own), "Oh, Quasi…I've missed seeing your handsome face. I wish I hadn't left you so soon."

A tear streamed down the side of Quasimodo's face, as he enjoyed her hand's caressing his face, despite it being covered by a glove. "I've missed you so much, Esmeralda," he softly said.

The others just stared at the two in great confusion, wondering just what Todd asked out loud, "What da heck is goin' on?!?!"

"It appears to be some form of possession." Stantz deduced. "The spirit of Esmeralda seems to be reaching out through Diana."

"You mean that reincarnation stuff that old dude was talking about, before he had her try to blow us all sky-high, was the truth?!" Todd exclaimed in surprise.

"Possibly," said a suspecting Sean Spengler. "Or it could just be a trap."

"You _always_ think things are a trap, Spengs." J.G. remarked with a grin.

"And most of the time, I'm _always_ right."

The possessed Diana continued focusing on Quasimodo, still caressing his misshapen face with her gloved hand. After a brief moment, she then told him, "Quasimodo, you _must_ leave the Seventh Circle. Your friend is right…you do _not_ belong here."

"But Frollo said…"

"He _lied_ to you, Quasi! He had Chernabog erase half of those horrible deeds he had done to you, me, and everyone in Paris from your memory, when they forcibly brought your spirit into the Seventh Circle. You've done nothing to be sent here, and you must go with your friends, before…AHHHH!!!"

Diana's hands suddenly went to the sides of her head, as she let out an agonizing scream. Her eyes rolled once again, flashing in a bright red color. Before any of the others could wonder what was happening to her, her screaming had ceased and she commenced in performing the action she was forced to engage in before: an attempt at annihilating the Ghostbusters and the Daring siblings – only this time, Quasimodo was in the line of fire as well.

"Aw, man! Here we go again!!!" Todd screamed in horror.

The group ran away from the possessed Ghostbuster and duck for cover behind each of the columns, just as Diana began opening fire on them. She blasted away the columns with the powerful protonic stream of the Proton Gun, forcing her prey to fall back. And if that was not enough to endanger them, large portions of purple-colored slime started to pour into the room from the holes in the ceiling and the floor of where the column once stood.

"You've got to be kidding me!!!" J.G. exclaimed.

As the slime was flooding the entire room and leaving the group up to their knees in it at less than a minute of time passing, Diana continued firing upon them, forcing them to duck while the streams connected to other sections of the room and blowing them apart to allow more slime to pour in. Soon Stantz, Spengler, Quasimodo, and the Daring siblings were up to their necks in the strange purple slime, while Diana had already departed from the room before they were, heading back upstairs where Frollo still resided.

"Okay, somebody _please_ tell me there's a plan coming, 'cause this slime's not feeling all that great in my pants!" Todd complained, trying to keep his head above the surface along with his sister and Quasimodo.

Neither Stantz nor Spengler had much trouble keeping themselves afloat, with the massive weights of their Proton Packs keeping them well above the surface. "Well, first, you guys hang onto our equipment," ordered J.G., and Todd, Riley, and Quasimodo thankfully obliged, swimming over to the two Proton Packs and hanging onto one of each. "Now I just have to blow away the front doors to flush out all this slime!" He detached his Proton Gun from his Proton Pack and held it above the foul-smelling, sticky slime, aiming directly at the front entrance.

With one single blast from the Proton Pack, Stantz successfully blew away the double doors and allowed all of the slime to drain out from within the cathedral. The group were drained out along with the putrid ooze, being carried directly out onto the front steps of Notre Dame. Some of the slime had even reached near the Ecto-1, staining all sides of the vehicle and turning it from a clean, freshly-waxed white color to a messy, blackened one. The company logo was barely even visible on the doors.

After they were set free from both the slime and the haunted cathedral, the Ghostbusters, Quasimodo, and the Daring siblings got to their feet, just as they heard the sound of heavy thunder above them. They looked up and saw how dark, gray, and cloudy the skies appeared, with faint green flashes emerging from within the dark clouds every few moments. The sight of it alarmed the five people who were observing it.

"What's going on?!" Riley asked.

"The worlds are beginning to merge, just as Chernabog planned for it to." Spengler replied. "Quasimodo, you'll have to show us the location of Bald Mountain, before the merger is completed."

Quasimodo looked at Spengler in great concern for a moment, and then he directed his focus back onto the cathedral, thinking of what Esmeralda had told him through Diana. All of the forgotten memories began to return, and he felt furious of spending so much time in a place that he was not meant to live in after death. The Notre Dame that stood before him was only a cheap imitation…a sinister one designed by Frollo to make him believe he was sent to a happier place. But this place—The Seventh Circle—was anything but happy.

"I _will_, Dr. Spengler," acknowledged Quasimodo, right before they all headed into the Ecto-1.

After J.G. climbed into the driver's seat, he was about to start up the vehicle, until he suddenly realized how they would be leaving behind a fellow teammate. "Wait…what about Diana? We can't just leave her behind with that creep!"

"I have a feeling that we will see her again _very_ soon…as well as Frollo, for that matter." Spengler assured.

With a worried shrug, Stantz hesitantly started up the Ecto-1 and roared down the street of what appeared to have been a manifestation of the city of Paris, France. It was just as real as the Notre Dame cathedral, with the exception of a decent population of citizens. Of course, it was perfect enough for Judge Claude Frollo, who observed it all from the bell tower's balcony, with the possessed Diana Zeddemore at his side.

He grinned and glared with his glowing red eyes at the fleeing Ecto-1, while petting one of the grotesque stone gargoyles perched on the balcony's edge. After some time, every crevice of the gargoyle's structure glowed in the same reddish hue that Frollo's eyes had, until its own pair of eyes began to glow themselves. However, it was the grin that emerged from the stoned figure's face that brought out its increasingly menacing appearance.


	22. Story 22

"Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A Pirate's Life for Me!"

As insane as the situation at Madison Square Garden was that evening, Alexis couldn't have imagined it to get any worse from that point, especially after the unusual phone call she received from the heavily concerned Christina Melnitz. However, it could not have been as strange as how dark and grey the sky was becoming upon their arrival at the firehouse headquarters.

But Alexis was too exhausted to spend any brainpower trying to figure it out, as it was joining just a list of things that were unexplainable – the "Terror Dog Attack" being number one, followed by the disappearance of Kimberly Venkman. She was certain that Sean Spengler would give her a thorough explanation once she returned, seeing that Spengler, Stantz, and Zeddemore should have arrived from their investigation by that time.

Unfortunately, when she, Louise Peck, and John Hardemeyer entered the building, they discovered that none of the three Ghostbusters were there. Only Christina was there all by herself, standing near her desk with a spooked look manifested on her face. As soon as she watched Alexis, Peck, and Hardemeyer arrive, she urgently ran to them and cried, "Y'all have got to follow me down to the basement! This is just _beyond_ weird!"

Before Alexis could even bother to ask what it was, she was suddenly grabbed by the arm and led down to the basement so fast and so briskly that she feared her arm would be pulled clear off. It could not have been as hard as Louise and John being forced to rush after them, especially after running for their lives during most of the evening.

But the thought of exhaustion quickly left their minds, as soon as they saw the bizarre metal door that Christina had depicted in her phone call to Alexis, situated exactly where the Containment Unit should've been. The sight of it brought chills down their spines – it was nothing they had ever seen before, unless it was in a fairy tale (no matter whether it was an original or Disney-based). All of the insanity that occurred earlier that evening was completely erased from their memories at the moment they had seen the door.

"What in bloody blazes is that?!" Louise exclaimed.

Alexis was so agitated from this that she barely let anyone have a chance to answer Peck's question when she asked one of her own. "Where the heck is Spengler, Jay, and Dye?! They should've been back by now!"

Christina shook her head and shrugged. "They hadn't called in almost over a few hours. I'm startin' to think there could be somethin' huge happenin' here, and it's gonna take the whole team to stop it."

"Well, there's just one problem with that, Miss Arkansas," said the obviously frustrated Hardemeyer, "we're lacking a team as it is right now."

Melnitz glared at Hardemeyer. "I know that, hotshot! And for your information, I'm Virginian!"

Alexis chose to ignore the bantering between Christina and John and focus solely on the door in front of them, which should have been the only subject of their attention at the time. She slowly and cautiously approached it, looking into the inanimate eyes of the goblin creature, whose face was imprinted on the door. Within seconds, Alexis felt herself falling under an extreme trance – everything around her became blurry and soon started spinning.

It wasn't very long before Christina noticed the way Alexis was stumbling and grew extremely concerned. "Alexis? Hon, are you okay?" She quickly went to her side and grabbed her, making sure that she didn't collapse. Shaking her a little, she was able to snap her out of the trance she was in. "Maybe you need to rest for a while, sweetie. It's been a long night for you. Let Sean figure this out, as soon as he and the others get…"

"We have to go through this door!" Alexis suddenly demanded.

Louise and John exchanged a quick glance of fear, before Louise remarked in a voice that just about lacked British tone to it, "Say what now?!?!"

Even Christina had to wonder where this demand came from. "Okay, kiddo…you are _definitely_ in need of rest right about now."

"Our friends and the recruits are past that door, Christy!" Alexis retorted. "I just saw them a moment ago, trapping in some sort of 'ghost world' that is beginning to merge with ours!"

John just scratched his head in confusion and said in a doubtful tone, "And you know this just from looking at the door?" A sarcastic chuckle emerged from the former aide to the mayor of New York, as he shook his head at the odd Ghostbuster. "Doesn't anybody make sense here anymore? I mean, didn't we _already_ go on some other girl's precognition powers?!"

"It's not precognition!" Alexis snapped. "It's just a hunch, okay?"

"Well, I'm certainly not gonna risk my life on a hunch!" Hardemeyer declared. "You can just count me out of th…" He stopped as soon as he felt a strong grip come over his left arm, just as he attempted to leave the basement. It was Louise, once again showing how strong she could be when it came to disciplining him. But it only took the glare in her eye to make him change his mind on the matter. "Alright, fine…I get it! This is the only way we can prove our worthiness, right?"

Alexis smirked. "If you wanna put it that way…then, yeah, it is."

"Okay, Miss Embers," said Louise, with crossed arms and a skeptical look on her face. "How do you suppose we get past this monstrosity of a door?"

"If I were ya, I wouldn't even step one foot past dat dere door!" A deep, somewhat intimidating voice spoke out from behind them, followed by a series of heavy footsteps that were walking down the creaky staircase. When they turned, they were met by the bulbous sight of Pete in his black suit and tie that appeared messy, having quite a few stains on it. For a recently appointed representative of the Environmental Protection Agency, he was not coming off as too conservative. "'Cause these here premises are now under restriction by da E.P.A.!"

Louise shook her head at the pathetic sight before her – who apparently was her replacement for the organization. "You _must_ be joking me with this."

"Yeah, dat's right, toots!" Pete coyly remarked. "Be jealous dat I've got da job that ya obviously was too chicken ta handle! And I'm gonna show ya right now how it's done by shuttin' down the Ghostbusters fer good!" He brisk past Peck and approached Alexis, as she continued standing near the spooky door.

"If you're planning on doing that by switching off the Containment Unit, you're a little too late." Alexis told him, before gesturing to the door. "This thing has apparently replaced it."

Pete blew a raspberry at the grotesque metal door. "Don't try and con me with yer supernatural mumbo jumbo, missy! Ya tryin' ta hide yer fancy little ghost-holdin' machine from me, so I won't hafta shut it down! Now…" Angrily facing the door, Pete began banging his huge, white-gloved fist against it, creating an eerie, hollow noise.

"…OPEN…"

_BANG!_

"…THIS…"

_BANG!_

"…DOOR!"

_BANG!_

On the final strike, something incredibly bizarre occurred – the eyes of the goblin imprinted on the door glowed green and unleashed a beam of light that struck Pete, causing him to vanish from the very spot he stood. The eyes of Alexis, Christina, John, and Louise widened in shock of the paranormal attack, uncertain if Pete had been destroyed. However, it was soon a matter not worth pondering over any further, as the goblin's eyes began shining towards them.

Alarmed by the looming danger, Alexis turned to Christina, wishing not for her to be in harm's way. "Christy, get out of here now!"

But Melnitz shook her head negatively in response. "I'm not leavin' y'all behind! We're gonna be in this together!" Right after Christina made her declaration, another beam of light shot across the room and struck Peck and Hardemeyer simultaneously, vanishing them both from the room just like Pete. It was then that Christina was convinced that Alexis's suggestion was right on. "Ya know, I never really did believe in any of that 'all in this together' junk. It's only good for lyrics to a _High School Musical_ song!" And with that, she dashed out of the room as fast as she could.

Alone with the attacking door, Alexis detached the neutrona wand of her Proton Pack and aimed it directly at the eyes of the goblin, which was on the verge of unleashing another beam. Just as it did, Alexis fired her wand and counteracted against the beam. She almost appeared to be in some sort of tug-of-war battle with the beam, as her proton stream was bouncing off against it (and vice versa). But the beam soon proved to be too powerful for even the stream to overwhelm, and Alexis was forced to shut off her wand and allow the beam to strike her.

Alexis shut her eyes, shielding them from the immense flash of green that surrounded her upon getting struck. When it eventually extinguished, she opened them again to see herself on the deck of a full rigged ship, complete with groups of appalling, genuine pirates that were laughing, snarling, and even hissing at her. It was then out of nowhere that she felt pairs of hands clamp down on her arms. At first she believed it might've been the pirates, until the quivering sensation she detected in them convinced her otherwise.

Looking down she noticed how Louise and John were holding onto her, appearing extremely frightened and shaking like timid rabbits. Regardless of the fact that they were cutting off the blood flow in her arms, she was relieved to know that they had not been destroyed. However, it then begged the question of what happened to Pete, if all the beam had done was transport them to some kind of alternate dimension – which seemed to be just that from the sight of the swirling green and grey clouds above and the dark, foreboding islands floating around the traversing pirate ship.

Alexis's concerns of Pete were soon answered, just as she heard his illiterate voice conversing with some of the pirates on the ship and not sounding all that happy. "Listen here, ya wannabes! I know fake 'scallywags' when I see 'em! I used ta be one! Dey didn't refer ta me as 'Peg-Leg Pete' fer nothin'!"

"Shut yer trap, ya blubberous blob!" One of the pirates screamed at Pete. "Da captains will know what to do with ye and ye's friends very soon!"

Pete bellowed with laughter, with his huge, protruding gut wobbling disgustingly in conjunction with it. "Now I knows yer a bunch of phonies! Only nitwits would have more dan one captain for a single ship!"

The pirate's eyes were literally turning red in anger, as were the others standing around him and the rest all over the ship. They unsheathed their swords and pointed them straight at Pete, who was beginning to show signs of actual intimidation.

"Ye be wise not to refer to pirates in such a demeanor, fat one!" The pirate furiously exclaimed.

"And ye be wise never to threaten anyone associated with the new caretaker of the underworld." The voice didn't sound so anonymous to everyone on the ship, as its register was unmistakable. All heads immediately turned to where it sounded from, near the door to the grand cabin, and there stood the ship's dual captains – Hector Barbossa and James Hook. It was Barbossa who addressed his crew, as they lowered their swords from Pete. "Especially when that caretaker is our expected guest."

Louise scratched her head over Barbossa claim of one of them being this so-called "Caretaker of the Underworld." "What in blazes is he talking about? Which one of us is carrying such a title?" John shrugged his shoulders with confusion registered on his face in response to Peck's question.

However, it was answered just when Captain Hook approached Alexis, took off his hat, and bowed to her with half of a grin on his face. "Welcome to the Seventh Circle, my lord. We were told of your arrival here and set sailed across the borders between the realms as soon as possible."

Alexis almost felt herself becoming dizzy again, after the realization came upon her that the person whom Hook and Barbossa were referring to had been her the whole time, much to her immediate bewilderment. Could these pirates have mistaken her for someone else? Whatever the case might've been, she didn't have any time to figure it all out. Somewhere in that parallel dimension, her friends and the recruits were lost and possibly in great danger – and she (and as much as she hated to admit it, Louise, John, and Pete also) were the only ones who could save them.

For the time being, she was better off in letting the pirates believe her to be whomever they wanted, as long as she could find her friends and the recruits. In response to Hook's statement, she asked, "T-Told by whom?"

"Surely ye must know of yer own herald from the Underworld, me lord," said Barbossa, sounding very perplexed. "He wouldn't have alerted us of yer arrival, if ye had not first and foremost warned him of the Circle Holders' attempt of mergin' tha realms. If we be stoppin' it, then we must reach to our destination in time to stop tha one who be bringin' it." He then pointed to one particular island that was floating some distance away. "We soon be makin' berth on that land, which is where our adversary may be."

Alexis glanced at the island and nodded, only somewhat understanding Barbossa's proclamation. But regardless of whether she understood any of it or not, it was important for her to search for her friends and the recruits, as well as prevent the merger between the realms. She boldly ordered of the pirates, "Then that's where you may take us."

And as soon after she gave the word, Hook and Barbossa began barking out demands to their crew, having them do all they could to make their ship go faster to their destination. Alexis watched them all as they carried out their orders, looking like a real pirate crew if she ever saw one. If this was the "Seventh Circle" of where she could only imagine one to be, then she would need the assistance of these pirates from the Underworld to help her survive through it all. Because the three quivering morons with her sure as heck weren't capable to do so.


	23. Story 23

"Right Place, Wrong Time"

The blue and red lights of the Ecto-1 flashed throughout the dark, shadowy streets of "Old Notre Dame," as J.G. drove the vehicle to their destination of Bald Mountain – their only way out of the Seventh Circle – before Frollo made any attempt to stop them. Between the lights on top of the car and the headlights guiding him to what lied ahead, the Ecto-1 just about stood out like a sore thumb – and Stantz hoped that none of their Seventh Circle adversaries (especially Frollo) would spot them.

While Todd and Riley joined J.G. at the front seat of the vehicle, Sean Spengler took position in the backseat, along with Quasimodo, wearing his welder's mask and going to work on the two Proton Packs that belonged to him and Stantz. Often at times, the Daring siblings would look behind them to see what he was doing; but Spengler would just gesture for them to turn around, fearing the sparks from his welding might hit their unprotected faces.

"What is it that you're doing, Dr. Spengler?" Riley curiously asked.

Spengler would take a second to stop welding, long enough to answer someone who addressed him like Riley. "I'm doing modifications to our tools. There's a reason our streams are counteracted by the forces of this world."

"Oh, yeah?" Stantz remarked, sounding very intrigued to know. "Mind sharing with the rest of us what vast knowledge you've gained from our little experience?"

Sean removed his welder's mask, showing off the grin that was registered on his face from Jay's comment. "The psycho-kinetic energy used by the spirits in this world is a lot different from those used by the ones we've faced from the netherworld, including Gozer and Maleficent. When we fire our streams at them, we're only strengthening rather than weakening them."

"So we should work on an opposite charge!" Stantz remarked, already figuring out his idea.

"Correct," acknowledged Spengler, who was obviously proud of the young scientist's growing genius. "Our packs work on concentrating protons…but if we switched it to electrons instead, then we could do a considerable amount of damage, as well as find a way out of this realm while preventing it from merging with our own."

Quasimodo smiled in awe and wonder over the Ghostbusters' equipment. "You mortals certainly have remarkable tools. I only pray that it _will_ stop my master and Lord Chernabog from hurting anyone beyond this world."

After listening to the conversation between the two scientists, Todd scratched his head in confusion and said, "I have no clue what you guys are talkin' about. But I'm willin' to just go on the words 'damage' and 'way out' to keep myself from flippin' out."

As Todd was making his statement, J.G. suddenly spotted something crossing the path of the Ecto-1, showing up as clear as day under the headlights. He realized at the last moment that it was a person and immediately slammed down on the brake, swerving around the person to avoid hitting him or her. This action, however, caused J.G. to crash the Ecto-1 into one of the abandoned buildings they passed through. If it were not for its weak structure, the vehicle would've certainly received extreme damages.

Unfortunately for the passengers, the crash left them slightly stunned and disorganized – Spengler and Quasimodo had been thrown onto the front seat, with their upper bodies scrunched up near the other passengers' feet. Seeing them in that position, Riley asked in concern, "Are you guys okay?"

"I'm all right." Quasimodo calmly assured.

"Other than a slight concussion, I am surprisingly satisfactory." Spengler stated, although from his monotone way of speaking, it was difficult for Riley to tell if he was joking about the concussion or not.

That was when a knocking came through the driver's side window of the vehicle, which was covered in too much dried slime for Stantz or the others to tell whom it was that had been knocking. J.G. rolled the window down and allowed the stranger to peek inside. He suddenly found himself blinded by a lot of red hair, as Kimberly Venkman poked her head in, looking rather concerned.

"Oh, man! Are you guys cool?" She asked. "I'm so sorry about that! I couldn't see where I was going!"

Spengler picked himself and Quasimodo off from the floor and returned themselves in the backseat. "We're fine, Venkman. But how did you get here?"

"To be honest with ya, I have no clue." Kimberly remarked. "One minute I was in some place where closet monsters ruled and then the next I'm somewhere in the _Twilight Zone_." She then noticed the presence of Quasimodo and added in confusion, "Is that the character that the guy from _Animal House_ voiced in that one cartoon?"

Stantz's ears perked over one particular thing that Venkman mentioned. "Wait…you said 'closet monsters'? As in Meagan Tully's 'closet monsters'? Don't tell us that you brought her here!"

"Dude, it's like I said…she took me to Fred Savage's worse nightmare, where I got knocked unconscious by this big blue walking carpet, and then I woke up here in…whatever this place is."

"You're in the Seventh Circle, Venkman." Sean revealed to her.

Kimberly's bright blue eyes showed signs of surprise and fear upon being told of her current location. "You mean we're in the Seventh Circle of…?"

"Yes!" The others immediately confirmed.

"Okay, okay. Geez…what're we doing here? Trying to maintain PG-level dialogue?" Venkman bantered. "Anyways, the kid's not the only one here – Jonathan Barrett's around, too."

J.G. snickered a little. "Your old boyfriend?"

Kimberly glared at him and viciously inquired, "Do you _want_ me to smack you right now, bro?"

Before J.G. could've given some kind of response to Venkman's threat, Spengler refocused the conversation back on their current situation. "It's crucial that we depart from this realm – just our being here is generating enough instability to create a greater rift between worlds."

"Frollo is the key to it all." Quasimodo stated. "If we defeat him, then we can stop the merger and you all can return to your realm peacefully."

"Fro-who?" Venkman reacted to all the new information she was receiving in much perplexity. "Wait a minute! Where did you guys pick this weirdo from? What're these kids doing here with you? And where's Diana? Alexis and Christina told me that she was accompanying you boys."

Stantz and Spengler exchanged a look of apprehension, before J.G. finally answered, "We'll explain on our way to find Meagan and Jonathan. Can you possibly guess where they might be in this area?"

Kimberly scoffed at Jay's suggestion. "Dude, I couldn't even find a toilet around here if I wanted to. There's no way I could…"

_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

They heard the scream of a girl sound in the distance. Only person in J.G.'s mind could have made a scream like that. "Meagan!"

It was soon followed by one fierce, inhuman roar that Quasimodo quickly recognized, much to his horror. "Oh, no! Frollo has sent the gargoyles to hunt for us! They must've discovered your friends and are attacking them as we speak!"

"Meagan…we've gotta help the poor thing." Kimberly insisted. "She might be weird as sin, but she's still a human being…metaphorically speaking, that is."

"It will be a perfect opportunity to test out the functions of the Proton Pack, after I've successfully 'recharged' them." Spengler stated, as Kimberly got into the Ecto-1, which Stantz began backing out from the wrecked interior of the abandoned building.

And even while they were departing, none of them detected the shadowed presence of Randall Boggs from within the room, watching them closely before camouflaging himself and following after them.


	24. Story 24

"Let's Get It Started"

The pirate ship of Captains Hook and Barbossa laid anchor on the island at the moment they arrived there. A long, wide plank had been set down between the ship and the land, allowing everyone on deck to cross, with Barbossa, Hook, and Alexis going first. Once they were on the island, Alexis glanced in wonder at how much it resembled Paris, France back in the sixteenth century. In fact, most of the island they had passed during their journey looked much like places from certain centuries that were the targets of much supernatural activity, according to Sean Spengler and _Tobin's Spirit Guide_.

After Louise, John, Pete, and half of the crew crossed the plank and set foot on the island, Barbossa focused on Alexis and stated, "It's yer call now, me lord. Lead us away."

Alexis scratched her head, having no idea where she and the crew should've gone to find the source of their problems. That was until she heard a loud, in human moan, followed by the scream of a female human being. The sounds nearly made Louise and John wet themselves – while Pete couldn't compose himself not to.

Taking the noises as a sign, Alexis pointed in the direction they came from and stated, "That way! C'mon!" She started to run, while the pirates unsheathed their swords and barbarically shouted, following along with her.

Louise, John, and Pete felt themselves pushed from behind, forced into moving in place with the rest of the crowd. It was John whom vocally expressed his dismay in having to run for the umpteenth time that evening. "Oh, dear god! When will it ever end?!"

"I don't believe you, Hardemeyer!" Peck exclaimed, seeming to be the best one in shape out of the three of them. "Didn't the mayor at least once give you a day to step into the gym and work out those scrawny little legs of yours?!"

"No! And you want to know why? Because unlike you health nuts over in the E.P.A., I was too busy trying to keep our beloved mayor in office, avoiding the trouble of scumbags like the one who's leading us to our deaths!"

Meanwhile, Pete was already out of breath and sweating, after only a few seconds of jogging. Through heavy breaths, he stammered, "Somebody…get me…some wa…ter!" He then began to slump over Louise, making her run much harder than it had to be.

She glared over at Hardemeyer, who seemed to take pleasure in watching her suffer from having to carry Pete, and sarcastically remarked, "We're _all_ just nuts over health in the E.P.A., eh? Well, try telling that to this fat bloke!"

After crossing nearly a mile and a half into the ruined area that was old Paris, France, Alexis suddenly heard some type of electronic noise that made her stop in her tracks. The others did the same, especially Louise, Pete, and John, who all were sweating and breathing heavily – Louise had even removed the coat to her suit and tied it around her waist, exposing her drenched white blouse.

"What be the problem, me lord?" Barbossa inquired.

Alexis detached her neutrona wand from the Proton Pack, gazing around in extreme suspicion. "We are not alone here."

Barbossa, Hook, and the others looked around as well, their swords held high and ready for any possible sneak attack. A few moments of nothing but silence passed and then – out of nowhere – two figures magically appeared near one of the abandoned figures. Unbeknownst to them all, it was Phil Diffy and Keely Teslow, whom greatly surprised the heavily superstitious pirates with their unexpected appearance.

"Our enemy sends reinforcements! Attack!!!" Hook wildly ordered.

But before the pirates could've carried out the temperamental captain's order, Alexis raised a hand in protest and shouted, "NO! WAIT!!"

The pirates instantly stopped, much to their surprise, as well as Barbossa's. "With all due respect, me lord, but why mustn't we not attack tha very people who're associated with tha one who causes this mess?!"

"Because I don't think ghosts use handheld devices like _that_!" Alexis said, indicating the one in Phil's right hand, known only to him and Keely as "The Wizard."

Barbossa stood there, feeling a little sheepish from his lack of common knowledge. He had chosen to blame it on the pirate nearest of him – and that unfortunate soul turned out to be Hook, whom he slapped across the arm and grumbled, "Why didn't ye tell _me_ that before I started flappin' my gums?!"

"You blame _me_ for _your_ ignorance!!!" Hook roared, holding his hooked hand up high in great fury. "Why I oughta…!"

"Will the both of you shut up?!" Alexis demanded, surprising the two pirates with her brisk tone, which instantly made the both of them fall silent. After dealing with them, Alexis turned back to the two frightened youths near them and asked, "You kids aren't from these parts, are ya?"

Phil and Keely both rapidly shook their heads. "W-We were just hoping to find the Ghostbusters," said Keely.

"Yeah, we met up with one of them in some alternate universe where monsters are in power." Phil added. "And don't ask us how we got there, because it's still a mystery to us."

"Okay, well…how did you get _here_?" Alexis inquired.

Phil shrugged his shoulders and answered, "Yet another mystery to us – we took an elevator in one of the buildings from that 'monster universe' and then…_Poof_…we're here."

It was obvious to Alexis that these kids were just more victims to the "merge" that had been occurring between different realms – the complete opposite of what Barbossa, Hook, and the pirates had suspected them to be. She nodded in understanding of their situation and said, "Well, it's not safe to be wandering out here on your own. I'm a Ghostbuster, and I'm looking for my crew."

Keely looked up and down at Alexis, noting how ravaged her uniform looked from head to toe, missing the company insignia from her shredded sleeve and her nametag from her left breast. "No offense, ma'am…but you don't _look_ like a Ghostbuster."

Alexis glanced at her torn uniform, which was a result from her fight with the Terror Dog, and looked to Keely, putting her hands on her hips. "Well, I assure you that I _am_ a Ghostbuster, and I'm gonna do all I can to get you, my friends, and anyone else here in this place back home saf…"

A sudden vibrating sensation overcame the side of her right thigh, like some kind of phone. She looked down and realized that her Ghost Trap was trembling. The only ghost that was trapped in there was the exact same Terror Dog that she fought earlier that evening. And from the looks of her twitching Ghost Trap, it was doing all it could to get out…which it eventually did.

The escape literally came in a flash, as Alexis's Ghost Trap reopened itself and allowed its captive to leap out from it and reappear in the middle of the street that the group stood on. Alexis had been thrown back from the force of the Ghost Trap's reopening, forced down on the ground and left to watch the Terror Dog growl at everyone, including her.

Gazing upon the horrific sight of the Terror Dog, Barbossa exclaimed in shock, "Dear God, what manifestation of hell be that?!"

No one answered the pirate captain's question, as they were too stunned in watching the Terror Dog snarl at them a few more times and dash away to some unspecified location. Determined to capture it again, Alexis got to her feet and gripped her neutrona wand tightly, running after the demonic canine. She barely even heard Louise and John cry out for her to come back.


	25. Story 25

"Rock It 2 U"

Frollo's stone gargoyle hunters were a lot fiercer alive than they were as just inert decorations. As they hovered high above the air over one section of "Old Paris," they hurled vicious fireballs that they regurgitated at the small group of people down below, which consisted of Fungus, Jonathan Barrett, and Meagan Tully – who was brandishing a Proton Pack and neutrona wand. As much as she fired at the winged monsters, she was not able to blow one from the sky or even put a dent in one.

Ducking from the fireballs, she took shelter in one of the abandoned buildings along with J.B. and Fungus. They were frightened and greatly concerned about Kimberly Venkman, who vanished as soon as they arrived in the bizarre realm. If these gargoyles had gotten to her, then there was certainly no hope for the rest of them – as they were not scientists or Ghostbusters.

While a fireball was thrown and exploded near the entrance to the building they were sheltered in, Meagan shook her head and breathed heavily. "I think this is the end for us, guys," she worriedly assumed. "Dr. Venkman's gone, we've got no idea where we are, and these gargoyles are only seconds away from destroying us! We're doomed!" She then began babbling like a lunatic, tears streaming from her eyes and saliva oozing from her mouth.

Annoyed from her loss of control, J.B. didn't hold back from slapping her across the face and snapping her out from insanity. "Shut up! Alright?! Just calm down and relax. We're not down for the count yet."

"What're you talking about?!" Fungus exclaimed. "We're trapped like lizard-rats here! There's no way we can get pass…"

A tremendous roar emerged from one of the gargoyles outside, right before there came some type of electrical zapping sound that was suddenly followed by an explosion. Through the windows, Meagan, J.B., and Fungus could see tons of flaming rock debris raining down to the street – the remains of one stone gargoyle that had been blasted away from the sky. But by what exactly?

As soon as they noticed familiar flashes of blue and red against the window, Meagan and J.B. rushed to it and spotted a welcoming sight outside – the Ecto-1! Granted, it had seen better days, having some type of dark residue staining the sides of it. But, nevertheless, they were certainly glad to see the Ghostbusters piling out from it, firing their neutrona wands (which were giving off purple/green streams, as opposed to the usual orange/blue ones) at the winged monsters above and successfully destroying each of them.

Only three Ghostbusters piled out of the Ecto-1: J.G. Stantz, Sean Spengler, and (to the surprise of J.B. and Meagan) Kimberly Venkman. Out of the three, just Stantz and Spengler were brandished newly-modified Proton Packs, while Kimberly was left to search around for hers – in reality searching for the person who carried it, Meagan Tully herself. Knowing this, Meagan made the ultimate sacrifice in going outside and heading into the heart of the battle, shouting out to Venkman.

"Over here!" She cried. "Dr. Venkman! I've got your…"

_KA-BOOM!!!_

Another few gargoyles exploded in the air from connecting with Stantz and Spengler's electron streams, raining their rocky remains all over Meagan. She ducked and dodged every hint of debris that came her way. Thankfully, J.B. arrived in time to bring her out of harm's way, returning them back to the abandoned building.

"What the heck are you thinking, girl?!" He frantically asked her.

"I need to get Dr. Venkman's Proton Pack back to her," she said upon removing the heavy device from her back. "She's gonna need it to fight those gargoyles!"

J.B. took the equipment off her hands and told her, "Well, let me take care of that! You just sit tight and don't leave this spot!"

Meagan attempted to make another protest, not able to see why J.B. should go and not her. But he was already out of the building before she could say anything, moving faster than a speeding bullet. She could certainly see why he was the better one in handling the task rather than her.

J.B. made it over to the Ghostbusters and the Ecto-1 in less than a few seconds, skidding to a halt directly near Kimberly, who was shielding herself from the opened passenger side door. Seeing J.B. there, completely unharmed, Venkman sighed in relief and stated, "Dude, are you ever a sight for sore eyes!"

"Seems like I've been saving your butt quite a bit recently," J.B. teased, while handing the Proton Pack over to her.

Looking down at it, she shook her head negatively and remarked, "I can't use this – it's not modified like Jay and Spengs's are."

"What?!" J.B. couldn't believe that he risked his life for nothing. However, that wasn't all true, as he was able to at least delight her in showing that he was alive and well. It was plainly obvious on her face that she was happy to see him again at the moment he arrived. Regardless, there was one thing that he needed to know. "Well, why did you get out of the car?!"

"Because my foot was asleep." She answered, much to J.B.'s frustration.

Fortunately, the powerful force of the neutrona wands carried by J.G. and Sean were enough to scare away the remainder of gargoyle hunters that hovered in the air. These monsters knew when they were overwhelmed. They only needed some time to regroup, before they returned in greater numbers. And, of course, the Ghostbusters would be ready for when they did.

Inside the abandoned building, Meagan watched the gargoyle hunters retreat with a huge smile on her face. She didn't even mind sharing her happiness with the short, red monster that she shared the empty space with, as she told him, "Not bad for humans…eh, Fungus?" The monster didn't reply – not like Meagan would've expected him to, seeing how uncomfortable he was just being there with people he hardly knew. However, even for Fungus, being that quiet was something Tully found a little off.

Looking in his direction, she was met with the horrifying sight of the snarling, drooling Terror Dog – the demonic canine that she watched Alexis Embers almost get shredded by. It stood over the blue _Monsters, Inc._ hardhat that belonged to Fungus, evidently signifying the monster's unfortunate fate. In Meagan's mind, not even he deserved that kind of consequence. She, on the other hand, looked to be on the verge of suffering from it also.

The sight of the Terror Dog left her totally speechless. Although she was able to utter one thing in this frightening moment, "Oh cra…"

_BRRRRAAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!_

Its bone-chilling roar sounded throughout the entire area, especially near the Ecto-1, where Stantz and Spengler held their neutrona wands up high, ready for the monster that dwelled within the empty structure. Realizing that he left Meagan in there, J.B. reacted in horror of what might've become of the young woman.

"Oh, no! Meagan!" He attempted to run back inside there, but he was stopped immediately by Kimberly. "Let me go! I've got to get her out of there!"

"And let you get torn to bits, too?" Kimberly retorted. "Not on your life, my friend!"

When the roaring had ceased and all became deathly quiet, the group grew heavily suspicious. J.G. and Sean kept their wands aimed directly to the building's entrance, waiting for whatever was inside there with Meagan to come out and show its ugly head. After a few moments, they began to hear footsteps…_light_ footsteps to the confusion of the team.

Instead of the monster that they expected to see, Meagan herself stepped out of the building, looking extremely pale and disheveled. There was a blank expression registered on her face as she walked in the opposite direction of where her friends stood. They were surprised to see her appear and not the monster that made the terrifying noise, but they were more surprised to see her walk away from them, heading to no place in particular.

Before she moved any further, Kimberly shouted out to her, "Hey, kiddo! Where ya goin'? It's not smart to separate from the group in a strange place like this, ya know."

Hearing Venkman, Meagan stopped walking and slowly turned to face her friends. Other than the paleness of her face, they also realized that her eyes had gone from their normal green color to a bizarre shade of red. It was obvious that the young woman wasn't quite herself at the moment.

"Meagan…are you alright?"

And what she said next was more disturbing in her dark tone than the statement itself, "My name is Allha…there is no Meagan!" Shortly after she declared this, her form had dramatically morphed into that of the Terror Dog that possessed her, letting out another monstrous roar before dashing away to the direction that she was heading in.

Witnessing this _beyond_ paranormal event, the group stared out in complete disbelief and shock. Kimberly then voiced her feelings on the matter, slapping her hand over her forehead and saying, "Man! Can this night get _any_ worse?!"

And as if on cue, a bolt of green lighting shot down from the dark, grey clouds above and struck the street corner, creating a heavy tremor that knocked J.B. and the Ghostbusters off their feet. Inside the Ecto-1, Quasimodo and the Daring siblings hung on for their lives, as the tremor violently shook the vehicle.

Once it had passed, the group looked to where the lighting bolt had struck to the ground, seeing a huge cloud of smoke billowing from it. Within seconds, a human figure stepped out from the smoke, dressed in a gypsy garb that was eerily familiar to Quasimodo as the type Esmeralda once wore. Unfortunately, it was not Esmeralda who stepped out from the smoke – it was Diana Zeddemore, still under Frollo's control.

Kimberly chuckled at her teammate's current attire. "Dye? What the…? Did you cosplay at _Comic Con_ and deliberately forget to fill me in? Girl, I had the perfect Jean Grey costume to try out!"

"Venkman, you don't get it!" J.G. snapped. "Zeddemore's been…!"

Stantz then started to scream in agony, his hands going to his head and clutching it tightly. The others soon followed, performing the same action, all while Diana had been pointing her finger and glaring right at them with glowing red eyes. "Your presence is required by His Lordship," she said in a lifeless tone of voice. "You would be wise not to make any attempts of resistance…or I _will_ destroy you all."


	26. Story 26

"What's Goin' On"

Running all over "Old Paris" for what felt like hours, Alexis had to give the Terror Dog credit on one thing – it was without a doubt the fastest paranormal beast that she ever encountered. It only angered her that she let the demonic canine escape without a fight (one that she obviously wouldn't have won, due to the uselessness of her Proton Pack). But she hoped that maybe she would get another shot – this time without the help of any timid former authority figures, teens who could see the future, or any other people who would just get in her way.

That's when it hit her…it was that kind of gung-ho attitude growing her so apart from the other Ghostbusters. She never would've imagined herself to act in such a selfish way, knowing full well that being a Ghostbuster was all about trust and teamwork. And it was those two things that helped her reunite them, when she teamed up with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Cody, and Alex almost a year ago. Even while she stood there on the street corner, all by herself, she felt disappointed in herself for being such a glory hog.

In the midst of her self-pity, Alexis heard an eerie, familiar growl. She looked ahead of her to see her primary target – her new 'friend,' the Terror Dog – creeping up toward her. After feeling the way she did about herself, Alexis could've cared less what the outcome of this battle would've been, especially under the notion that she couldn't get hurt or killed from it.

"Go ahead," she told the beast, uncertain if it could understand her or not. "Do whatever it is you have to do to me! You couldn't possibly do much worse to me than what's done already!"

What occurred next was something much unanticipated for Alexis, as the Terror Dog morphed into a character that she was all too familiar with, even if she had only met her earlier that evening. That character was Meagan Tully, who looked just as menacing as the Terror Dog inside of her, with her extraordinarily pale skin and red eyes. Looking at her, Alexis wasn't certain if she was possessed or _actually_ was the Terror Dog that she and the others had been combating during the night. But the latter assumption quickly proved false, once she realized that Meagan and the Terror Dog were in the same place at the same time when she was attacked.

Striding towards her, Meagan darkly said to Alexis, "Believe me…I would…if I were not forced to seek allegiance with you."

Alexis looked closely at the young woman, seeing pass the possessed features and trying to find the same girl she met earlier. "Meagan? Is that you?"

"My name is Allha…there is no Meagan," she remarked in a tone of voice that was unparallel to Meagan's usual timid way of speaking. "From my realm, there refer to me as 'The Observer of Gozer' – I seek worlds for 'The Traveler' to cross and conquer. Five years ago, I visited your realm in guise of one of your human inhabitants, witnessing how frail and weak your world was – an easy target for Gozer to destroy. Unfortunately, when I had left, I had not counted on your band of eliminators to stand in my lord's way."

"Oh, my…Just how many of you are there?" Alexis inquired, before coming upon the realization of an even more important question. "Wait! I thought the Ghostbusters vanquished Gozer! Are you telling me that she _still_ lives?!"

Allha seemed extremely angry as she responded to Alexis's assumption. "No mere mortal can kill a god like your companions have! Only one other god can vanquish another!"

"But then where…?"

"I have no time in answering your pointless inquiries, Caretaker!" Alexis rolled her eyes on Allha addressing her in the same way as the pirates – who _didn't_ know about her identity as this "Caretaker of the Underworld"? "I seek your allegiance in stopping this merger between the realms. It is preventing me from being able to scour the universe for the Traveler's next path."

Alexis scoffed at her proposal. "Sounds like the only positive thing to come from all this craziness. Without another 'frail and weak' world for her to conquer, she's like a chicken with her head cut off."

"And yours will suffer, because of your incapability to save it!" Allha snapped, her eyes flashing red in conjunction with her attitude.

Despite the harsh way she pointed it out, Alexis knew that the paranormal entity had a point. If she didn't do all she could to save her world, then it would surely come to an end. But stopping this merger would mean having to sacrifice other worlds for Gozer the Gozerian to conquer and destroy – possibly including her own. It was a matter that was just as hard for Alexis to stomach as joining forces with the Terror Dog that attacked her for reasons that were yet to be explained (she would make certain to find out, before all of this was over).

Just as she was about to answer to Allha's proposal, a familiar voice called out from behind her. "Embers! There you are!" It was a furious (and exhausted) John Hardemeyer. When Alexis turned to face him, she saw that he was accompanied by Louise and Pete (who looked equally exhausted as he did), the two kids they met a while ago, and the pirates, as they were all approaching her.

"Don't _ever_ leave us in the dust like that again, young lady!" Louise angrily declared, right before she noticed the girl standing in front of Alexis. "And who in the bloody world is this?!"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told ya," was Alexis's only reply.

"Try us." Hardemeyer challenged.

"No, John…I don't think I will." Alexis said.

Allha glared at the group before her and impatiently stated, "We're wasting time standing here and conversing with one another. I shall lead you in finding the location of Chernabog's follower."

"Now who's Chernabog?!" Louise exclaimed, sounding more frustrated than confused.

John just shook his head and said, "I gave up trying to figure this whole thing out, when we met the girl who could see the future."

Meanwhile, Alexis focused on Allha and said in response to her offer, "Alright then lead us. But please do it in _this_ form and not in your wild, cheetah-fast one."

Allha let out an exasperated sigh. "Very well. It will take us quite some time to get there. Considering how feeble and clumsy this mortal's body is, I might as well take my time."

As she turned to begin leading the group to their destination, something suddenly materialized before them – the same monster that had been stalking Meagan Tully for countless hours, Randall Boggs. He hissed at the young woman, without knowing what had become of her "real" identity, and threatened, "This is the end for ya, human! I'm gonna tear ya limb from limb for ruining my gig back in Monstropolis! I'm gonna…"

_**"DO YOU BAR MY WAY?!?!"**_

Randall was nearly scared stiff from the horrifying way she had addressed him, her voice sounding heavily demonic and extremely inhuman. Still not knowing what had happened to her (and not caring, for that matter), he maintained his toughness and answered, "Yeah! I bar your way, little girl! What're ya goin' to do about it?!"

Alexis, unaware of the history between Meagan and Randall, was just about ready to blast the unusual monster away with her neutrona wand, while the others just stared on in confusion. That was until the moment Allha did something from Meagan's body that made them all blink twice…

She opened her mouth and eyes wide, inhaling deeply. Letting out one monstrous roar, iridescent lights began pouring out from her eyes and mouth, shining brightly over the truly horrified Randall's form. He attempted to camouflage himself again, but was finding it very difficult to. His body felt hot – _extremely_ hot – and it was starting to turn into a violent shade of red. Seeing this, he screamed in remarkable agony.

Within seconds, Randall Boggs was no more – all that remained in his place was a small pile of ashes that soon vanished into the wind. Her opponent finally (and quickly) defeated, Allha continued leading the group on their path to the desired destination. The others could barely move after watching the unearthly display – even the pirates had never bore witness to such brutality.

Alexis, with half of a grin upon her face, looked towards Louise and John. "You two _still_ want to know who she is?"

Peck and Hardemeyer nervously glanced at one another and answered simultaneously, "No, no! We're cool!"


	27. Story 27

"You Dropped A Bomb On Me"

Inside the first floor of Notre Dame, Quasimodo and Jonathan Barrett had been tied to one of the pillars along with the Daring siblings, while Drs. Venkman, Stantz, and Spengler were tied to one across from theirs. They had all been tied up for nearly an hour and a half, with the possessed Diana Zeddemore standing before them and staring into space the entire time. Quasimodo still could not get pass how nearly identical to Esmeralda Frollo made her out to be, neither could he figure why he did.

Between the outfit and the way she was blankly staring their way, Kimberly couldn't shake off the creepiness that she was getting from it. "Dye, could you _please_ look towards somewhere else? You're like one of those mannequins from _JCPenney_ during the late night hours!"

Diana just continued to stare their way, as if she hadn't heard a word that Venkman just said.

"It's useless trying to reach her, Kim." J.G. stated. "Frollo's gotten her under total control."

"Well, how do we snap her out of it?" J.B. asked. "This has just got to be like torture for her."

Before anyone could've provided some type of suggestion for J.B., they heard footsteps descending from the staircase. All was silent as Frollo appeared in the room, his eyes no longer glowing as they were before, although she still wiped them on occasion. He had a very serene look upon his face as he entered, approaching Diana and smiling as he grabbed a lock of her hair and sniffed it, getting some sort of sick vibe from it.

"You, Mister Frodo, are one sick dude, ya know that?" Venkman uttered.

Frollo glared in Kimberly's direction and grumbled, "The name is Frollo! And you'd be wise to not upset me, if you know what's best for you, Doctor Venkman."

"What is it that you want from Diana?" J.G. asked. "You want to control her? Turn her into your own personal slave?"

"'Love slave' is more like it." Todd said, which got a snicker from Kimberly.

"SILENCE!!!" Frollo demanded of his prisoners. "What I do with your friend is my business and my business alone!" He then eased his tension and calmly added, "If I were all of you, I would be more concerned about what Lord Chernabog shall do with all of you, once the merger has been completed."

Sean shook his head negatively. "You cannot let this happen, Your Lordship. The rift will just end all realms together, and Chernabog won't have to worry of what to do with us, because he'll be vanquished himself!"

"Hold your tongue, Doctor Spengler!" Frollo snapped. "You will not speak of the God of the Seventh Circle in such a manner, as long as you remain here in our world!"

Spengler said no more on the subject, as Frollo was too pompous to listen to any objectionable thing. He only sighed and hoped for some brighter side to come from this, which seemed highly implausible, considering where they were and the lack of allies they had.

* * *

Outside near the front doorsteps of Notre Dame, Allha led the massive group that consisted of Alexis Embers, Louise Peck, John Hardemeyer, Pete, Phil Diffy, Keely Teslow, Captains Barbossa and Hook, and the pirates to the cathedral that was their primary destination. Everyone seemed so perplexed that she had taken them there, as they expected to find the one responsible for the merge in some unholy place. But Notre Dame – even if it were some type of manifestation – was very surprising.

"Are you sure that you hadn't made some mistake, Allha?" Alexis asked.

"No mistake! This is where he is!" Allha exclaimed, just before she morphed back into her Terror Dog form and dashed towards the front entrance to the cathedral.

Watching Allha as she moved in her true form, Alexis and the others stared in disbelief (despite Alexis already aware of it). Embers turned to the others, seeing their mouths gaped open in shock and eyes widened in surprise, which she assumed must've been the way she looked upon first witnessing it. But she quickly stopped admiring the irony and focused back on their mission.

"C'mon, guys! Let's not just stand around!" Alexis said. "Let's get in there and kick this guy's booty!"

Barbossa's mouth nearly salivated from the last word she said in her command. "Ya mean he's got some in there?!"

"Okay, maybe 'booty' was the wrong word to choose…but, anyway…LET'S GO!!!"

The pirates roared barbarically, as they followed Alexis towards the cathedral. Louise, John, and Pete hesitated in doing so, not wanting to rush into their presumable deaths. However, the pirates standing behind them would've cared less what they wanted to do and pushed them ahead – it had taken nearly ten pirates to push Pete's bulbous form.

Allha was obviously the first one to arrive upon the front door, leaping toward it and crashing right through. She let out a ferocious roar that echoed throughout the inside of the cathedral, scaring the living daylights out of everyone, except for Diana – but especially Frollo.

"NO!" He cried upon seeing the Terror Dog's brash entrance.

"Frodo meet Allha…Allha meet Frodo." Kimberly jested.

The demonic canine leaped high across the air and tackled Frollo to the floor, growling and drooling all over him while glaring into his eyes, which started to glow viciously again. "I will _not_ let the forces of the underworld prevent our master's forthcoming event!"

At the same time his eyes glowed, the eyes of the stone gargoyles perched around the upper halves of the cathedral began glowing as well. They then came to life and glided down to the street, just as Alexis and the others neared the doorway. They were just about to enter, until the roars of the gargoyles caught their attention, looking upward to see them advancing their way.

"You boys take care of those things the best way you can," ordered Alexis, as she stood closest to the entrance. "I'll take care of _him_."

Barbossa nodded in agreement with her order. "Much obliged, me lord! We be lookin' for action like this for hours now! ARRGH!!" He then took out his pistol and fired at one of the gargoyles square in the chest, blowing it to pieces, and engaged in battle with the other pirates against the gargoyles.

"Embers! Wait for us!!" John pleaded.

"No, stay out here! It'll be much too dangerous inside the church!"

"Like it isn't all that much out here?!?!" Louise frantically exclaimed, as she, John, and Pete ducked down and plugged their ears from the booming pistols, roaring gargoyles, and screaming pirates – all while hoping _not_ to be too caught up within the fierce battle.

Alexis stepped right inside the cathedral and was met with one surprising sight. "Whoa! It even looks like Notre Dame on the inside!"

Her moment of awe and wonder was soon cut short by the alarming voice of J.G. Stantz as he told her, "Watch out, Alexis!!!"

Out of nowhere came the swinging blade of an extremely sharp sword that nearly connected with her head, if she hadn't ducked the moment J.G. warned her. She looked up to see whom was wielding it, and she was shocked to see that it was Diana Zeddemore, a woman that she only hours ago had worked with to fight the Terror Dog that she was (ironically) joining forces with at the moment.

"Dye?!" She exclaimed in shock. "What're you doing?!"

Zeddemore took a swing at her again, and she dodged in time to avoid the blade, as it struck the concrete floor, generating a few sparks. Alexis rolled and stopped near the pillar that Venkman, Stantz, and Spengler were tied to. "Alexis, Diana's been possessed. You can't possibly connect with her in this state," informed Spengler.

Noting this, Alexis removed her Proton Pack and nervously gazed upon Diana, as she advanced her way with glowing eyes and the sword held high above her head. "What should I do? I can't just kick her butt, can I?!"

"Drastic times call for drastic measures, sweetie." Venkman stated, before Diana took another swing at Alexis that she dodged from. The blade connected with the ropes that bound the three scientists to the pillar, cutting them free instantly. Kimberly then smiled and commented at this, "Did I call it or what!"

With the Ghostbusters freed, they focused on any possible ways of snapping Diana out of the trance that Frollo placed her under. It was then when it dawned upon Spengler what the key was in bringing her back to reality. "I've got an idea," he told his colleagues. "Grab your Proton Packs!"

They dashed over to the corner of the room, trying to avoid the "battle" between Alexis and Diana, and grabbed their Proton Packs, which had been placed into a pile by Diana herself. Strapping them on, Stantz and Venkman followed Spengler's lead, as he detached his neutrona wand and aimed it to where Frollo had been wrestling with Allha.

"As soon as Allha has gotten off of Frollo, open fire on him." Sean ordered.

The Ghostbusters waited as he continued to wrestle with the beast. While doing so, J.G. couldn't help but to look back at Alexis, seeing how she was reduced into defending herself only with her neutrona wand, deflecting the blade from Diana's sword with it. Even though she had somehow become indestructible, there was no telling what sort of supernatural capabilities that sword in Zeddemore's hands had, if it was strong enough to possibly kill her. He dared not to think about it, as he refocused his attention back to the other battle taking place.

Frollo was successful able to get Allha off from him, after reaching for a staff with candles on top and whacking Allha on the side of the head with it. As he was getting to his feet, he noticed a flash of colors in the corner of his eye. When he turned his head to see what it was, he realized all too late that the Ghostbusters had opened fire on him, hitting him square in the chest. He screamed in immense pain, as his smoking body was thrown against the wall – the power dwelling within him slowly escaping.

After striking Frollo with their wands, Stantz, Spengler, and Venkman all turned to Diana and Alexis, as the two were struggling to get the upper hand over one another. Fortunately, in the midst of the struggle, Diana's eyes ceased from glowing and the blank expression that had been masked upon her face started to show signs of life. And then, after a few seconds, she was herself again.

"Wha…What?" She stammered, looking down to see Alexis at the mercy of a sword that she was evidently holding. Quickly reminded of her fear of extremely sharp objects, she immediately moved the sword away and threw it down to the floor. "Um…okay? Definitely don't wanna know what I've been doing with _that_!"

"It's a long story, Z." Stantz said, while he was freeing Quasimodo, J.B., and the Daring siblings from their rope. "We'll talk about it over some _Starbucks_, as soon as we've…"

A weak gasping noise abruptly cut J.G. off, as he and everyone else turned to see the fallen Frollo – a smoking hole blown right into his abdomen – using whatever strength he had left in him to sit up. His eyes were glowing heavier than they had before, but his skin tone grew dark and very grey. "Y-You…mortals really…" He let out a heavy cough that resulted in smoke shooting out from his mouth before he spoke again. "You really believe…you've put an end to me?! Have you…a-already forgotten…t-the secret th-that I have revealed…a-about the Circle?!"

"Oh, shut up!" Kimberly snapped at him, growing annoyed. "Why can't you just lie down and die like a good little ghost?"

Frollo sneered at Venkman's words. "As you shall soon see, Doctor Venkman, I am not just some 'good little ghost'!" On those last three words he uttered, his voice became deeper and more menacing. His body refrained from smoking any further, and it instead started to grow bigger – his skin turning dense and rocky.

It was then that the entire cathedral began to shake violently. Quasimodo could hear the bells in the tower ringing in a way that would make them too unstable. And this was clearly evident once one came crashing through the room's ceiling, landing across from where the group stood. "We must get out of here! The bells will surely crush us!" The bell-ringer warned, and the group didn't stop to think twice on the idea.

They hurried out the building, with Allha following close behind, and regrouped with the pirates outside. Barbossa, Hook, and their men were all covered in dust and gravel, as were Louise, John, and Pete – who looked more stunned and horrified than they had in the previous hours. Only a few of Frollo's gargoyles remained but were soon self-destructed, exploding in midair with their remains only floating instead of falling.

A heavy vortex was unleashed from the sky and engulfed Notre Dame, ripping every section of it to shreds. The floating remains of the stone gargoyles were instantly sucked in, joining the swirling chunks of debris. From within the chaos, there came deep, wicked cackling – something ominously gigantic had grown in the rapidly decaying church. Once the vortex had ceased and all of what was left of Notre Dame had turned to rubble, the only thing that remained was a twenty-foot tall, stone-cold gargoyle with broad wings and a face that was reminiscent to that of Claude Frollo.

Only a closer look told the people that were observing it from down below that it was in fact Frollo himself, using the power granted unto him by Chernabog to take the only form that he was all too keen over. His eyes maintained their eerie glow and, in addition, his mouth gave off black smoke that smelled like brimstone to the observers below. And his voice matched the tone that he had spoken from earlier when he said, "FOOLS! NOW YOU WILL BEAR WITNESS TO THE TRUE POWER OF THE CIRCLE!"

And on these words, he flapped his massive wings, blowing everyone below away like an air jet. His enormous form lifted off the ground and then flew away from the island. Watching him as he departed, Allha morphed back into the form of Meagan Tully and stated, "He is heading to the mountain. That is where he will complete the final stage to the merge by absorbing a fraction of Chernabog's power."

"Then Bald Mountain is where we're heading!" J.G. declared.

"Aye! Let's make haste to our ship!" Hook ordered.

"First we gonna go pick up the Ecto-1." Kimberly suggested. "Believe it or not, I think we've still got some payments on that thing."

Spengler pondered for a second of the vehicle's true importance in what's to come and an idea struck in his brilliant mind. "I would think of another excellent reason for bringing it along with us, Venkman. But I'm not sure if you-know-who would like it all that much." He glanced in the direction of J.G., as he stood side-by-side with Alexis and Diana.

The three of them glanced at one another before simultaneously pointing to themselves and mouthing, "Me?!"


	28. Story 28

"If You Believe We Are Magic"

Bald Mountain was an island of enormous seismic activity that occurred every hour. The only thing that kept the land from breaking apart was the amount of psycho-kinetic energy that overwhelmed it – energy that was generated from within the massive mountain sitting at the very center of the island, where Chernabog himself nested. It was this island that kept the existence of the Seventh Circle together, yet it was also what would soon tear it apart (courtesy of Claude Frollo).

On the side of the mountain was a small cavern that currently functioned as a prison for current visiting mortals – the Junior Ghostbusters. They were all contained in one huge rock-made holding cell, with long stalagmites functioning as the "bars" that kept them in. Outside of their cell, there sat an old, bushy-haired woman with wild green eyes and a few warts on her face that went by the name of Madam Mim, a powerful witch that was once the rival of the great wizard known as Merlin but currently served as the guard watching over the prisoners. Although she was mostly sitting there, only a few feet from the cell, and playing chess with herself (in reality, using magic to make the opposite pieces move themselves).

From inside the cell, the Junior Ghostbusters looked more uncomfortable than they felt – especially in the case of one Emperor Kuzco, whom still was wearing nothing other than his boxers, quivering in the corner and pacing around the room a few times. Seeing him this much of a wreck, Malina did her best to ease his tension. "Kuzco, will you just relax? I'm sure the Ghostbusters will find a way to save us from this mess."

"That's right, everybody." Mickey said. "The Ghostbusters are the best. They've saved the world plenty of times before. And I'm certain they won't…"

"OH, SHUT IT, YA OVERPRICING THEME PARK MONGUL!!!" Kuzco suddenly snapped in frustration, alarming everyone in the cell but barely getting the attention of Mim from outside. "Don't ya get it?! It's been hours since we've been sucked into this nightmare of a place! The walls are closing in on us, there's some short ugly woman keeping us in here, and everything keeps getting all quaky every time!" He then broke down and started whining like a spoiled child when he loudly added, "I WANNA GO HO-O-O-O-O-O-OMMMMMEEE!!!"

After Kuzco's outburst, the other recruits just stared at him awkwardly, never bearing witness to such a pathetic display. Alex then broke the silence by responding to it in a way that made it obvious she was a little uncomfortable. "Okay…there's one minute of my life I'm never getting back."

It was at that point when Max Goof sighed in despair, leaning against the wall with his head down sadly. "He actually has a point, guys."

"You mean the walls _are_ closing in on us?" Fozzie curiously inquired.

"No," Maximilian remarked. "I mean that we're never getting out of this place. Look around…this has to be beyond anything that the Ghostbusters had ever faced before – some kind of parallel dimension controlled by the most dangerous people in history. There's no way they'll be able to save us."

Max Goof's words struck the others hard, forcing them to lose all hope in the matter. However, his father maintained his sense of faith, and he refused to allow his own son to give up his. "Aww, Maxie. I never taught ya to ever let go of yer hope like that."

"But, Dad…"

"No buts, son. I'm gonna tell ya one thing about tha Ghostbusters. They're tha most brilliant, bravest, and strongest people I've ever met. Just last year, they saved tha world from sheer heck. And ya wanna know how they did it? They'd done it with tha faith of some friends." Goofy gestured to Mickey, Donald, Cody, and Alex. "We were all there when it happened. It was our faith…our hope…our beliefs that brought them together again."

Seeing the excellent point that Goofy made brought some hope back into the group, mostly to the four other people whom Goofy had made reference to in his talk with his son. "That's right, Max!" Donald happily exclaimed. "If it weren't for us, the Ghostbusters wouldn't have come together and saved the world!"

"There's a reason they hired us to be Junior Ghostbusters, fellas." Mickey stated. "Situations like this count for what _we_ can do for ourselves."

"Yeah," said Alex with a smile. "Let's try to save our own butts for once."

"I think it'll be quite the adventure!" Cody exclaimed. "Don't you think so, Zack?"

Zack glanced between his brother, Alex, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey with an awkward expression registered on his face and said, "I think you're all out of your minds! Have you forgotten the fact that we're in a cell made out of rocks, with an old, decrepit woman guarding us?!"

Alex stopped and pondered over something for a moment, making an important, life-changing choice in her mind that could rescue them from this situation. She knew Justin would immediately object to it – but what other choice did they have?

Reaching down to her sock, she pulled out her wand and closed her eyes, hoping what she was about to do next would actually work. Nearby, Justin noticed the magical object that she held in her hands, and his eyes grew wide in shock and suspicion. "Alex…No!!"

But Alex didn't bother listening to her brother and instead focused on the words she carefully said while waving around her wand. "For us to be held captive here is an unjustly sin, instead put the ugly witch in!"

A flash emerged from Alex's wand, just as soon after she recited the rhyme, which was in actuality a spell that transported herself and the other Junior Ghostbusters from inside to outside of the cell. Madame Mim had gone from sitting outside to sitting inside of the one thing that she had been guarding for hours, her chessboard no longer in front of her. For the first time since they arrived there, Mim paid attention to something other than her own activity – and she didn't like it one bit.

"What in blazes is this?!" Mim exclaimed, before she started sniffing the air and detecting something that brought a stunned look upon her hideous face. "Wizards? There are wizards here in the Circle?!"

The other recruits had seen the wand in Alex's hand and couldn't believe that she was in fact what Mim detected her to be. It was Cody, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy who were the most surprised by this wild revelation. "You're a wizard?! The whole time?!?!" Cody frantically remarked.

Alex smiled sheepishly at her friends and said, "Surprise?"

Goofy scratched his chin slightly, looking curiously upon Alex. "It does explain a lot of things."

"It does?" Mickey asked him in confusion. "Like what?"

"Don't rightly know…but it does explain it…Ah-hyuck!"

Justin sighed, realizing the cat had finally been let out of the bag. "Yes, everybody! Alex, Max, and I are all wizards." He then added with a great deal of sarcasm, "Thanks for letting the family secret out, Alex."

"Hey, it got us out of our mess, didn't it?"

Madame Mim let out a disgusting cackle from Alex's assumption, which resonated throughout the entire cavern. "Is that what ya _really_ believe, little girl? I'm willing to bet that I can get out of this cell with just the snap of a finger."

"Oh, yeahs, sandwitch lady?" Pepe remarked. "I'm willing to bet all de _Skittles_ dat I've got in my pocket on dat impossibilities, okay."

"It's a challenge then!" Mim said with a grin, just as she snapped her fingers and magically made the stalagmites retract to the ground, allowing herself to walk right out and approach the Junior Ghostbusters. She slyly stuck her hand out to Pepe and demanded, "Give me my prize, shrimp. I won the challenge!"

Pepe sighed, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of the rainbow-colored bits of candy. "F.Y.I., sandwitch lady, I am _not_ a shrimp…I AM A KING PRAWN!!!" He then tossed the handful of _Skittles_ into Mim's face, distracting her long enough for the recruits to run free from the cavern.

"Where are we going?!" Candace asked.

"For now…far away from this place!" Kronk told her.

Scrapping off some of the _Skittles_ that had stuck to her face – they seemed to have gotten _very_ sticky while in Pepe's pocket – Mim noticed the group as they departed from the cavern. She grew angry of their deception, feeling like a complete fool for falling into the king prawn's trick.

"I'll show you mortals to mess with the Marvelously Marvelous Mad Madame Mim!!" She yelled, shaking her fist high in the air – having a few _Skittles_ stuck to it. Curiously, she plucked two of the bits of candy from her fist and popped them into her mouth, chewing them up and tasting the intense sweetness from them. "Mmm! Very delicious!" She then spat out the candy and made a mortified look as she added, "I _hate_ delicious!"

* * *

Bald Mountain floated directly in front of Hook and Barbossa's pirate ship, which carried not only themselves but the Ghostbusters, Peck, Hardemeyer, Pete, Phil, Keely, Meagan Tully (a.k.a. "Allha"), Jonathan Barrett, the Daring siblings, and the Ecto-1 as well. At the head of the ship, Barbossa and Hook glanced through their long, bulbous telescopes, scouting the island for any sign of Frollo.

While the two were scouting, Diana Zeddemore had been glancing between the island and Alexis from the deck, appearing very alarmed by what Embers had just told her. "You mean to tell me that the new recruits are on that island, after going through some strange, mystical door that had replaced our Ecto-Containment Unit?!"

"That pretty much sums it up." Alexis confirmed.

"It makes sense," uttered Spengler, as he pondered over the situation. "The doors represent portals, in which the Circle entities are allowed to pass between realms, in order to allow them to carry out their plans. But here in this world, they're more like shortcuts that help make it easier to get around these islands."

"Then maybe it would've been a bright idea to search the one we were just on, instead of taking the 'alternate route'." Kimberly said, while holding her nose around the filthy pirates. "Man, if this is how Jack Sparrow _really_ smells, then I've lost complete attraction to that character!"

Louise then approached her and said (with a hint of sarcasm), "For once, Venkman, you and I agree on something."

Finally taking notice of her presence, Kimberly curiously asked Alexis, "Is there any reason why three of the biggest dipsticks in the world are with us on this mission?"

"What did she just call us?!" Hardemeyer shouted, clearly offended.

"She said 'dipsticks', as in 'jerks,' 'morons,' 'jackasses,'…should I go on or am I moving too slow for ya, fudge-brain?!" J.G. insulted Hardemeyer, who began advancing towards him in a threatening manner.

The pirates on the ship began whooping and hollering at them, hoping to see some sort of "mortal combat." But Alexis stepped in between them all and stated, "Hold it! Hold it! Don't do anything you all will regret later."

"Oh, I won't regret kickin' Miss Peck's butt in a million years, kiddo." Kimberly admitted.

"You want some of this, Venkman?!" Louise retorted, as she turned and bent over, wiggling her posterior in Kimberly's direction. "Come and get it!"

Venkman turned her head from the sight, feeling a little disturbed. "After seeing you do that, nothing in the world would make me want any of _that_!"

"Alright! Enough!" Alexis yelled, silencing all of the angry people around her. "It was _my_ idea to bring Peck and Hardemeyer in on this. They came to us, wanting to make amends, so I gave them a shot at becoming…" She stopped for a second and swallowed hard, before she finished her statement, "…Junior Ghostbusters."

J.G. instantly went into a frenzy on the notion. "Absolutely not!!!"

"Forget it, hon!" Diana soon followed.

"I would rather lobotomize myself with a blender." Spengler neglected.

"Even when this place starts freezing, there'll be no chance of that happenin'!" Venkman declared.

Alexis tried to think of something to say in defense of the two incompetents; but as hard as she tried, even she found them to be useless. Of course that was until J.B. said, "Well, I think you're being a little too hard on them."

The Ghostbusters gave him a stunned glare – even Louise and John were slightly bewildered of his defending remark. "J.B., honey…Hitler was a little too hard on Germany. We're just being rational."

"Kim, look at them." J.B. demanded.

"Do I have to?"

"Venkman!"

She knew he was serious when addressing her by the last name; so she did as he wished and looked at Peck and Hardemeyer. They were not exactly clean-pressed as usual – their black suits were filthy and disheveled, just as bad as their hair was. Not to mention they even smelled as bad as the pirates on the ship. And out of their horrid appearance, one thing was clear to Venkman – the one thing that J.B. tried to convince her of: they were still alive.

Kimberly sighed, while J.B. smiled and told her, "You know I'm right, don't you? They would not have made it this far, if they weren't capable enough of being on your team."

Even the other Ghostbusters were beginning to see J.B.'s point and very much taken aback by it. They didn't bother saying a word, as it was mostly the chairwoman's (that would be Venkman) call in what would become of the two. But just as she was about to make it, before a bright flash of light overwhelmed them all.

When it had vanished, the pirate ship rocked heavily, nearly knocking everyone off their feet. Once things were back on track again, the group realized how a massive shadow had loomed over them. Looking up, they were met with quite a startling sight: the Statue of Liberty standing high on the same island it normally stood on, as it floated along with the others in the Seventh Circle.

Seeing this, Spengler proclaimed right away, "We don't have much time."


	29. Story 29

"The Final Countdown"

The anchor was laid on the island of Bald Mountain at the exact moment another quake occurred. The tremor resonated through the large, heavy chain connected to the anchor and caused the entire pirate ship to shake violently. One of the pirates lost his balance and fell overboard, dropping down to the endless cloudy abyss below.

After watching the pirate fall, Barbossa grew heavily nervous and made a proposal. "Methinks it would be wise for us to remain here where it's nice and stable. I feel that our place in this battle is from this here ship."

Kimberly showed off a phony smile in response to Barbossa's proposal. "Aww, how thoughtful of you," she sarcastically remarked – although Barbossa mistaken it for an actual compliment.

"Well, we ain't gonna stay here and miss out on all the action!" Todd exclaimed. "Right, Riley?"

"Right, Todd." Riley agreed, before she boldly added, "We're gonna stay right here on the ship where it's safe."

Todd nodded in agreement with his sister, despite not realizing what she _actually_ just said. "Yeah, we're gonna stay right here where it's…" Once it did hit him, he turned to her and frowned. "WHAT?!"

J.B. shook his head and smiled at the Daring siblings. "I think I'll stay and watch over them, in case Todd 'attempts' leave the ship."

Diana then glanced at Louise, John, and Pete. "What about you three? Still think you'll be lucky enough to survive _this_?"

"Whaddya mean 'you three'?!" Pete yelled. "I still don't believe in any dis hocus pocus junk! I'm probably sittin' on my couch at home right now, havin' a sody pop and watchin' the Lakers kick da Magic's butts!"

Venkman raised an eyebrow at this statement from the new agent from the Environmental Protection Agency. "Oh, really? Well, here's a wake-up call for you, Kobe…your son, Pete Jr., is one of the recruits for my 'Junior Ghostbusters' program. What do ya think of _those_ apples?"

Pete's face became redder than a cherry at this news; he was so upset that he could barely talk. "My son…P.J.…He's…AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!"

To the surprise of everyone on the ship, Pete brashly jumped over the rail and soared across the air, falling ten feet towards the rock-hard terrain of the island. His body hit it with a sickening _thud_, making some of the people on the ship cringe.

"That cat sure as heck didn't land on his feet." Diana uttered.

"That is why dogs are the superior animals." Allha stated, before she morphed out of Meagan Tully's form and into a Terror Dog, using that form to leap remarkably off the ship and down on the island, landing perfectly near the moaning Pete.

Hardemeyer shook his head over Pete's idiotic way of getting on the island, as well as Allha's harsh way of doing it, and said in response to Zeddemore's earlier question, "Okay, if we're going, we're _not_ gonna go like _they_ just did."

"I heartily agree." Louise said.

Kimberly glanced at the dignified way Peck made that statement. "Does it ever occur to you how much you _exactly_ sound like C-3PO?"

* * *

The Junior Ghostbusters ran far enough from the cavern to consider slowing down for a moment to catch their breath. None of them could figure out why an old woman like Madam Mim would be chosen to be guard over any prisoner to this particular island. They didn't bother pondering over much longer, as they had the problem of getting off the island to worry about.

"Can't you wizard freaks just _poof_ us out of here?!" Candace rudely inquired.

"Excuse me? Did you just call us 'freaks'?!" Alex retorted.

"No, I said 'wizard freaks' – there's a difference!"

A furious look came across Alex's face, as she began advancing towards Candace, whom was practically gesturing for her to 'bring it on'. And it certainly would have been brought, if Justin hadn't held back Alex and Phineas & Ferb hadn't stood in front of Candace.

"C'mon! Let's not lose our heads, alright?" Mickey suggested. "I'm sure there's another way we can…"

_AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHAAAAACCCCCCCCKKKKKKK!!!!!_

A horrid squawking noise that sounded like a cross between a lion and an eagle made the recruits cover their ears, due to the extreme pitch of it. They looked up and saw a gigantic gargoyle beast soaring directly over the island and perching its colossal form right beside the top of the mountain.

"What the heck is that thing?" Rizzo asked, before he was shushed by the others in fears of the stone monster hearing them.

However, it seemed much too busy with whatever it was doing near the mountaintop. It lifted its enormous arms and spread them apart wide, before speaking in a voice that echoed the heavens. "MY LORD! I COME TO THEE FOR POWER…ONLY ENOUGH TO GRANT YOUR GREATEST WISHES! HEAR ME, MY LORD!"

There came another quake that was so powerful than the ones before that section of the rocky island began to break apart, unleashing geysers of boiling hot lava. The recruits ducked, dodged, and ran from any that came their way. In the meantime, the mountaintop cracked open, breaking apart to reveal its true form – a deadly volcano!

Frollo, the stone beast sturdily perched beside the volcano, closed his glowing eyes and absorbed the immense heat of the volcano. It reminded him of the nights he spent by the fireplace, dreaming of dancing with Esmeralda. Yet it also reminded him of how he died into the very flames that he attempted to burn the gypsy into. Ironically, the cause of his death was the very source of his growing power. And he felt himself becoming more powerful, as the heat consumed his massive, stone-made body.

Down below, the Junior Ghostbusters continued running from the geysers of lava, its fiery particles coming just an inch of them. Goofy was unfortunate at one point to have one particle strike him from the seat of his pants, causing that area to go up in flames.

"WAHAHAHA! I'M ON FIRE! I'M ON FIRE!!!" He cried, catching the attention of the other recruits, especially his son, as they tried their best to fan out the flames.

"Stop, drop, and roll, Mr. G! Stop, drop, and roll!!!" P.J. frantically and repeatedly said.

Goofy did as P.J. suggested and dropped to the ground, rolling around as fast as he could. The process worked, as the flames on Goofy's backside were extinguished, even though he continued to roll around. He eventually stopped, when his body hit something that felt long, hairy, and skinny.

He then heard Max shout to him in horror. "DAD! GET UP AND RUN!"

Getting to his feet, Goofy glanced to his left to see what it was he had bumped into – a nine-foot tall, twenty-inch wide purple and pink tarantula with the head of the same old woman that guarded them in the cavern! He screamed in terror upon the disturbing sight and ran with the others. However, they were not running long, as wall of lava shot up and blocked their path.

Having no where else to go, the Junior Ghostbusters turned and faced the monster that slowly and sinisterly advanced on them. "I told you mortals that I'd show you not to mess with the Marvelously Marvelous Mad Madame…"

_BRRRRAAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!_

Out of nowhere came Allha, pouncing right onto Mim's tarantula form and taking a massive bite out of her neck area. Mim let out a weak howl of agony, as she shook the Terror Dog off from her body. Unfortunately for her, the onslaught didn't stop when five particle streams struck the side of her body, generating more pain that made her cry out.

The Junior Ghostbusters looked across from Mim and were met with the welcoming sight of the _real_ Ghostbusters, firing their modified neutrona wands at the shape-shifting witch. Behind them was the Ecto-1, its headlights shining bright over their shoulders and giving them quite a heroic look. It wasn't long before Diana (whom the recruits were surprised in seeing how much she looked like Esmeralda) threw in the Ghost Trap and made it stop directly below Mim.

Diana's bare foot hit the pedal connected to the Ghost Trap, opening it to cause Mim's tarantula form to bend and contort as it was sucked directly into the Ghost Trap, never to bother anyone ever again. After the witch had been defeated, the recruits let out a collective sigh of relief. However, that sigh was soon retracted by P.J., as soon as he heard a familiar, unsettling voice.

"P.J.!!!!!!!!"

"Oh, man. Please don't let that be who I think it is."

Out from the Ecto-1 came Pete, stomping his bulbous feet towards P.J., whom was practically hiding behind Goofy. Seeing how scared P.J. was compared to how terrified he was earlier, Goofy felt the need as a father to reach out to Pete and try to calm him. "Now, Petey, go easy on the poor kid. He's been through quite a bit over…"

"Outta my way, Goof! Dis here's father and son business!"

"Business that has to wait, in case you don't see the gigantic monster perched near the large, shooting volcano up above!" Venkman told Pete, who noticed the thing that she indicated and grew speechless.

J.G. turned to Spengler and asked, "What's the plan?"

"We have to get the Ecto-1 into that volcano." Sean stated.

"What's the Ecto-1 going to do, other than just melt?" Diana inquired, not seeming to understand Spengler's plan of action.

Sean looked towards Phineas and Ferb and grinned. "You boys told me that you found a way to open gateways to parallel dimensions with the Ghost Traps, correct?" Phineas and Ferb nodded, just as Spengler pointed to the rooftop of the Ecto-1, particularly to a gray, metallic, cylinder mechanism that was mounted high over the others. "That device that I recently installed is a _super_ version of a Ghost Trap, carrying enough power to suck every single atom around into it. If you can reprogram the force field, it could be enough power to shut down the energy flowing from that volcano and return us home."

Phineas and Ferb smiled brightly over the action that Spengler wanted them to perform. "It won't take us any more than a millisecond, Dr. Spengler!" Phineas acknowledged, before he and his stepbrother got right to work on it.

While Phineas and Ferb went to work on the rooftop of the Ecto-1, Phil and Keely stepped out from the vehicle. They both volunteered their services to the Ghostbusters, once Phil had revealed the secrets behind his Wizard device to a very fascinated Spengler. It was that one device that played an important role in "part two" of Spengler's plan.

"Frollo will clearly detect the Ecto-1's presence, so we'll need to distract him long enough for it to fall into the volcano and counteract the volcano's psycho-kinetic energy." Spengler continued. "Five Proton Packs won't be enough to fend him off…" He then gestured to Phil and his futuristic device, adding, "We are going to use the duplicating function of Phil Diffy's 'Wizard' to create enough Proton Packs for _everyone_ to fire at Frollo with. He won't be able to counter all of our defenses at the same time."

Max Goof and P.J. both reacted giddily over this special offer. "You mean we get to use Proton Packs?" Max inquired.

"On our first day?!" P.J. added.

The two boys then wildly exclaimed together, "AWESOME!!!"

"No!" Pete screamed in anger. "No way is my boy gonna use your nuclear death machines!"

"But, Dad…!"

"No buts about it, P.J. I'm not gonna stand here and let you…"

_BONK!_

The rock that hit Pete's head practically knocked him senseless before it rendered him unconscious. A long, nasty bump formed over his head, as he quickly hit the rocky ground that he was all too acquainted with. Everyone watched his blubbering form fall in surprise, wondering who threw the rock at his head. All eyes went to Venkman, whom just sheepishly pointed to Peck, whom pointed to Hardemeyer.

"Yeah…it was me," he freely admitted with a grin.

* * *

Up to twenty-six duplicates of the Ghostbusters' Proton Packs were created for the Junior Ghostbusters, fitted with a safety function that prevented it from getting too hot or too out of control. One was even given to Kuzco by Kimberly, who boldly stated upon doing so, "If I _ever_ hear that you've been anywhere near my jumpsuit again, I'll make sure this is the _last_ time you carry this thing."

"It might as well be the last time, considering what I do the last one." Kuzco uttered, right before Venkman got up to his face and glared him into acknowledging in terror, "Alright, alright! I promise, I promise!"

Kimberly smiled in satisfaction. "Good boy," she said, giving him a gentle slap on the face and rejoining her teammates.

"Okay, so Phineas and Ferb have reprogrammed the 'Super Trap' and we suited everyone with Packs." J.G. made a mental checklist, before coming to the final thing on it. "Now there's just the issue of who's going to drive the Ecto-1 into the volcano."

From nearby the vehicle stood Quasimodo, who accompanied his friends on their mission for the purpose in seeing Frollo destroyed once and for all. He heard the Ghostbusters engage in their discussion, listening to them make the hardest decision of their lives.

"The volcano carries too much energy and heat for any human being to handle, and it'd be too dangerous to leap out of the vehicle before it drops, with Frollo standing there close to the opening." Spengler deduced. "Whoever does this will surely have to make the ultimate sacrifice."

Quasimodo was appalled to hear what they were attempting and was even more so when he heard Alexis volunteer. "I'll do it. I'm the only one here who's indestructible, remember?"

"But the psycho-kinetic energy would shut down whatever paranormal aura is surrounding you." Stantz told her, even though he wasn't quite certain of it – he was mostly trying to prevent himself from losing her again.

Venkman rolled her eyes as she sheepishly suggested, "Why not send Meagan…I mean, Allha in to do it?"

"That's not funny, Kim." Diana sternly said.

"Who's joking? That girl's got the demon in her…literally!" Venkman pointed out. "_Maybe_ she'd survive this better than any of us would."

"Look, I'm the one who's going and that's it." Alexis demanded.

"No!" Stantz snapped.

"Why not, Jay?"

"Because I love you!!!"

She stared at him in surprise, as did Kimberly, Sean, and Diana.

They soon snapped out from the surprising moment, when the roar of the Ecto-1's engines caught their attention. Turning toward it just in time, they realized that Quasimodo was at the wheel, driving straight to Frollo and the volcano. It was clear that he heard every word they said and refused to let his new friends sacrifice their souls over something that didn't have one.

Realizing it was too late in stopping him, the Ghostbusters commenced with the plan. They detached their neutrona wands from their Packs, ordering the Junior Ghostbusters to do likewise. On Venkman's command, all of them aimed their wands at Frollo and opened fire.

The barrage of particle streams connected with Frollo's stone back so fiercely that he screamed in pain. The energy he had been absorbing from the volcano began to exit from his body, rendering him powerless. Amidst the hail of electrons striking his body, he turned and faced the ones unleashing them. But his eyes soon met the one thing that proved to be conspicuously dangerous – Quasimodo driving the infernal machine of the Ghostbusters.

"QUASI…"

_BOOM!!!_

Frollo's left stone wing exploded into bits of rubble that had fallen into the volcano afterwards. The attack didn't come from the Ghostbusters, but instead from the pirate ship hovering within the outer boundaries of the island, as Hook and Barbossa ordered their men to fire all the cannonballs they had equipped.

On the deck of the pirate ship, Todd was thrilled by all the action taking place, jumping up and down at the rail and shouting, "Aw, man! Am I glad that I didn't leave the ship!!!" This was before he was yanked away from there by Riley and J.B.

More cannons fired at Frollo, shattering his stone form, while Quasimodo grew closer to the opening of the volcano. The bell-ringer amazed himself in the fact that he was capable of operating the machine that was clearly ahead of his time. Of course, spending lost of time riding it in with the Ghostbusters helped as well, watching how J.G. Stantz perfectly handled it.

As Quasimodo came within only a few feet from the edge of the volcano, he looked up to see Frollo, his former master, fall to pieces – defeated by mortals and Underworlders. He remembered what he last said to him, before he died that night at Notre Dame.

_"All my life you have told me the world is a dark, cruel place. But now I see that the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you!"_

He said those words with such hatred and hostility that he scared even himself to tears. But what he was doing there and then was done with not hatred or hostility…but of pity.

"Goodbye, master." He softly said, before he drove himself and the Ecto-1 into the volcano, with the last remains of Claude Frollo soon following.

The Ghostbusters and the pirates ceased firing and waited.

A few seconds passed and the greatest quake to ever hit the island occurred, while a swirling helix of orange and black colors shot from the volcano and into the dark sky above. The two opposing forces of psycho-kinetic energy connected, creating a massive rift in the space-time continuum.

Each of the islands floating around in the Seventh Circle – included that which contained the Statue of Liberty – began disappearing. The dark grey clouds that made up the realm dispersed, letting in flashes of white light. It was so bright that it forced everyone to shield their eyes from its immense brightness.

For a second, all that remained was just whiteness…

* * *

…and then the next, only the familiar atmosphere of the firehouse headquarters basement surrounded them.

It took a moment for the group's eyes to adjust to what they were seeing. No longer were there any pirates, volcanoes, floating islands, or clouds of paranormal energy. All that they had seen were just the Ghostbusters' equipment, including the Ecto-Containment Unit, which was not obscured by a demonic door anymore.

Phineas smiled at the success of not only their mission, but the experiment they had done with the Ecto-1 as well. "It worked, Dr. Spengler! It worked!"

"Yes," said a dark voice, which they all quickly realized came from Allha, still possessing Meagan's body. "You have done well in stopping the forces of the Seventh Circle, mortals. They will no longer be able to cross into your realm now that their only access point has been destroyed."

Venkman put her hands on her hips and grinned victoriously. "Well, now…that's some good news I love hearing."

"But one enforcer from the Circle still remains." Allha added. "And he'll see to it that your world gets destroyed from the inside – that is, _if_ he can prevent the Underworld forces from stopping him…which includes you, Caretaker."

Alexis bit her lip on this sentiment, already exhausted from the previous battle she was just recently involved in. The last thing she needed were warnings of another one approaching at some unspecified time. And even if she wanted to inquire as to when it might've been coming, she would not have wanted to risk stressing herself out on preparing for it. Needless to say, however, she was already becoming stressed out as it was on this.

Allha then began backing away from the group, standing in the nearest, darkest corner as she added, "Make no mistake, mortals. Even if you _are_ able to stop both sides in their upcoming war, there will still be one other who desires vengeance upon you all. Trust me, she is none too happy with the notion of a mortal taking the place of a god for one realm."

These last words brought out a great deal of curiosity in Spengler, who tried get more out from the possessive demon before she disappeared. "Wait! Are you referring to Goz…?"

But it was too late. Allha left Meagan's body at the moment her mouth and eyes opened, glowing red and seeping out a haze of smoke that vanished when it the ceiling. Meagan, regaining control of her body again, stumbled into the light with a bewildered look on her face. She gazed upon the startled faces that were gawking back at her and ignorantly said, "What did I miss?"


	30. Story 30

"On Our Own"

August 2009 – Two Months Later

It was a bright and sunny afternoon, just as it was the first day that Kimberly Venkman's "Junior Ghostbusters" program went into operation. A group of new hopeful applicants stood across the street from the Ghostbusters' firehouse headquarters, staring excitedly at the large, black, plastic-made banner hung above the front entrance, displaying the "Ghostbusters" name on it with the "O" replaced by the company logo.

A signature brown _U.P.S._ van pulled right near the entrance, and the driver hopped out, carrying a large, heavy cardboard box. He set it down near the door and knocked, right before he climbed back into the van and drove away. The smaller entrance built into the huge garage door opened and Christina Melnitz stepped out to pick up the box. However, she discovered how mightily difficult it was to pick it up, without straining herself.

"Here, let me take care of that for ya," came the voice of Kronk, who stepped out of the firehouse in his fresh new beige Junior Ghostbusters uniform, which displayed his name on the tag at the left breast and an interesting special version of the company logo on his sleeve.

In addition, he wore a pair of black combat boots much like the Senior Ghostbusters.

Kronk took the box from the pleased Christina, not appearing to have any difficulty with it whatsoever. She smiled at him, as he went back into the firehouse, whistling happily. Christina was just about to follow him in, until…

"Are you guys still taking applications?!" An eager young lady asked from behind Christina's back.

"Certainly, we're always willin' to…" She stopped and stared after turning around and realizing that there wasn't only one available applicant, but an entire group of them – ten, to be more precise, coming in the form of Raven and Cory Baxter, Eddie Thomas, Chelsea Daniels, Lily Truscott, Oliver Oken, Jackson Stewart, Rico, Newt Livingston, and Meena Paroom. She let out a deep sigh, sensing yet another long day at the office ahead. Gesturing for the applicants to follow her, she groggily said, "Follow me, and I'll give y'all some papers to sign." Before they went any further, however, Melnitz stopped and quickly inquired, "Wait…neither of you kids has the same first name, do you?"

Raven and the others exchanged confused glances, and she responded for them all with a simple "No."

Christina nodded in satisfaction. "Okay, cool. Follow me."

* * *

On the recently-installed third floor of the firehouse, Meagan Tully gazed at herself in the mirror at the corner, admiring the somewhat loose-fitting Junior Ghostbusters uniform that she and the other recruits received in the mail just a day ago. It seemed like just yesterday when she and the others met for the first time and went from being regular, inexperienced people to real investigators and eliminators in one night. Of course, they had a long ways to go before they could be as perfect as the originals, whom individually guided a handful of them on assignments.

A well-organized schedule had been worked out to satisfy the younger recruits that were still attending school, such as Phineas and Ferb. On weekdays, the older recruits were to accompany the Senior Ghostbusters on busts, while the younger ones handled their share on the weekends. Meagan, being one of the older recruits, spent the entire week hanging out in the firehouse, strapping on the heavy equipment and heading out to do some serious dirty work. After all she went through on the first day, she felt ready enough to tackle anything…except for maybe demi-gods, or "Class 7's" as the Ghostbusters referred to them.

The current day was Friday, meaning Meagan was sharing her time at the firehouse with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Max Goof, P.J., Louise Peck, John Hardemeyer, Kronk, Malina, and Kuzco. For the entire week, the young emperor couldn't stop bragging about his new uniform, striking many different poses everywhere he went. He did so, even while in the bedroom with Meagan and Malina.

"Forget about Dr. Venkman's uniform, I think this one suits me just fi-i-i-ine!" Kuzco complimented, while shoving Meagan away from the mirror to check out his own reflection. "I'd like to see those ghosts try and mess with me now."

Malina glanced at the modified company insignia on her sleeve in a rather peculiar way. "Do you guys even get why we get the ghost holding up two fingers, while the senior members keep their plain one?"

Kuzco looked at the insignia as well, but didn't seem to pay much mind to it. "I dunno. It's psychedelic?" Lifting his arm to see the logo in his reflection, Kuzco noticed how it almost seemed like he was flexing, which brought out a huge grin on his face. "Nice."

"Dr. Venkman says the logo represents our 'second generation' role in the business, which is why the little ghost is holding up two fingers." Meagan stated. "I think it's kinda cute."

"Well, I think it could be some lame attempt at a corporate gimmick." Malina said, before she softly moved her fingers across the fabric of her sleeve. "Buuuuut I've got no complaints on the suits though. Better than the school uniforms we had back home."

Meagan smiled at Malina, just as a knock came from the door – the closet door. Kuzco jumped in surprise once he heard it, stepping away from the mirror and hiding under the nearest bed. He frantically repeated, "It's them! It's them!"

"Are you going to do that _every_ time they come?" Malina asked in annoyance.

"I just don't like closet monsters, okay?" Kuzco said from under the bed. "Especially now that I know they're _real_!"

Meagan went over to the closet and opened the door, appearing to be much less intimidated in doing so, after spending years of her life fearing of even just standing near a closet. Behind the door was Mike Wazowski, carrying a microphone and having a big smile on his one-eyed, no-nosed face.

"How's it goin', humans!" Mike exclaimed, as he stepped out from the closet, where a barrage of laughter resonated from the factory on the other side.

Meagan clearly heard it and almost chuckled herself. "Sounds like company's new approach is working out pretty well – making kids laugh sounds a whole lot better than scaring them."

"Ya can say that again." Mike remarked. "Turns out that laughter generates ten times more power than screaming, making everyone pretty happy and ending all those fears of another energy crisis." He then sincerely added, "You mortals really made a difference when you came to Monstropolis, months ago. Heck, ya save us all from impending doom – even Roz was impressed, and that's not an easy thing, I tell ya."

Meagan laughed and grinned. "Well, I'm glad that we did make a difference and we're all such awesome friends now. It's also cool that Sulley's CEO of the company now, and we get to see you guys frequently."

"Yeah, Sulley pulled some strings with Roz and the C.D.A. and got the door to your headquarters available for access to any employees who'd want to meet the people that saved our world and lots others." Mike proudly stated. "He even gets to see Boo on occasion, too."

Wazowski suddenly heard Sulley himself call out from across the other side of the closet. "Hey, Mike! You're up, buddy!"

"That's my cue. See ya humans later." The short, one-eyed green monster said, before he went back into the closet, shutting the door behind him.

As soon as Mike was gone, Kuzco crawled out from under the bed and stood up straight, sticking out his chest and acting bravely. "Yeah, that's right. He'd better run. Nobody gonna mess with da emperor of cool!"

Malina lowered her head and shook it in disgust from Kuzco's annoying and ridiculous macho attitude, just when Kronk appeared in the room. "Heads up, peeps! We just got a call in from that new hotel downtown, _The Sedgewick Hotel_, which I hear has one incredibly meal with the tastiest crab salad, shrimp puffs, and…"

"What's the emergency, Kronk?!" Malina briskly interrupted.

"Oh, right…" He said with a sheepish look. "Slimer and the L.G.'s are at it again. Dr. V says she's comin' with us as a way of gettin' some payback."

Kuzco let out a depressed sigh at this news. "We're goin' after the goopsack? I'm wearing my _new_ uniform for cryin' out loud!"

The young emperor continued complaining, as the four of them slid down the firepole to the garage level. They passed right through the second floor of the firehouse, where J.G. Stantz and Sean Spengler were conducting tests on a heavily concerned Alexis, who had spent the previous couple of months worrying over what Allha the Terror Dog told them – as well as the revelation of being the new caretaker of the Underworld.

On her head, Alexis wore a strange helmet with several scraps of wire and metal hooked on top of it. According to Spengler, this helmet was one-half of a special piece of equipment known as the "Aura Video-Analyzer," which could be used to tell the emotional state of a person, as well as if they were lying, displaying their self-image on a nearby monitor. If possessed by a ghost, it would also display an image of that same ghost.

At the time Alexis had been hooked up to it, the monitor only displayed a spectrographic image of her face. During this time, Spengler and Stantz had conducted something of a medical examination on her, from taking her pulse to checking her heartbeat – which, from what the two scientists could tell, she apparently didn't seem to have.

"Dr. Sung was right – your heartbeat and pulse are completely absent from your body, Alexis." Sean stated, not able to believe even himself as he did. "You're half dead and half alive right now."

Alexis shook her head, looking a little scared. "I can't believe this is happening to me, all because I used that advanced prototype of yours."

Spengler looked rather guilty of himself as he told her, "I'm sorry."

"No, it's not your fault." She contradicted. "I was the one who knew the risks when I used that thing to stop Maleficent. If there's any good to come out from it, it's that she's gone forever and I'm still here kicking butt with you guys."

J.G. smiled, but for only a brief time, as he realized something important. "What about this 'Caretaker of the Underworld' business? Does that mean you can connect with the dead?"

Alexis shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea. But if it does, then that'll certainly make things easier for us. I mean, maybe we could start finding help in the ghosts we bust out there. Barbossa did mention something about a herald I have in the Underworld."

Spengler nodded and grinned. "Let's deal with this one day at a time, Alexis. I'm going to run some more scenarios and fill you in later." He got up and departed from his lab, heading downstairs to the basement area.

J.G. was about to follow him out, until he felt Alexis grab his arm gently, keeping him there longer. He looked at her, seeing the way her blue eyes sparkled radiantly under the light of the afternoon sun. "Stay with me, Jay. There's a lot we need to talk about."

Stantz seemed a little nervous from the enchanting way she was looking at him. "B-But Spengs said he would have some more info after…"

"I'm not talking about that, silly." She said with a chuckle. "I'm talking about this…"

And then, when he least suspected it, she closed her eyes and gave him a warm, passionate kiss on the lips that shocked him at first but soon relaxed into afterwards. He reached around the back of her head and rubbed his fingers through her long brown hair, feeling its remarkable softness. Closing his eyes as well, he continued to enjoy the kiss that he shared with Alexis, as it grew more passionate each second. And yet neither of them realized how the monitor was displaying the form of a woman consumed in flames, performing the same actions as Alexis – only because it _was_ her.

* * *

Kuzco, Kronk, Malina, and Meagan were gearing themselves up by the brand new Ecto-2K (Jay's fully repaired Volvo transformed into the new replacement for the Ecto-1, designed to look nearly identical to its predecessor), while Spengler had reached the bottom of the stairs and headed down the ones leading to the basement at the same time Diana Zeddemore was going up them with Louise, John, Max, and P.J. by her side. She had finished showing all the functions of the Ecto-Containment Unit to them, albeit while severely skeptical of having Louise and John down there.

"It really is impressive seeing how that storage facility of yours works." Louise said with a smile.

"Yeah, and that viewer installed in there makes it even cooler." Hardemeyer added. "You can see all the ghosts they've captured in there, including that spider thing they caught a couple of months back."

Diana grinned at their enjoyment, making it all the more easy to tell them, "I'm glad you liked it all, 'cause that's the _last_ time you two will be going down there."

"WHAT?!" They exclaimed in shock, clearly offended.

"When we finally start _really_ trusting you creeps with our Containment Unit, then we _might_ let you go near it again." Diana stated. "But until then, consider your butts off limits from it."

Peck and Hardemeyer both rolled their eyes and grumbled at each other, engaging in another debate over why Louise had ever talked John into becoming a Junior Ghostbuster. They did this while going upstairs, leaving Diana, Max, and P.J. a nice and quiet atmosphere to stand in.

"Ya know, they're annoyin' as heck; but with my dad breathin' down our necks from his new E.P.A. office, we're gonna need all the help we can get from them, if we still wanna run the business." P.J. told Diana.

"Peej's got a point." Max added. "Pete's got so many tricks up his sleeve that he'll just be itchin' to shut us down for good."

"You kids let us worry about him." Diana suggested. "We've weaseled our way from worst authority figures than him – that includes the two dipsticks upstairs arguing right now."

Max and P.J. laughed over Diana's optimism and gave her a high five, before they went upstairs and left her to hop into the driver's seat of the Ecto-2K, which Kimberly Venkman was approaching, while on the phone with Jonathan Barrett. "I'm gonna be late on our dinner date tonight, sweetie," she told him. "I'm headin' off to get some sweet revenge." She listened to him over the speaker, making a comment that slightly offended her. "No, I am not gonna let this 'Junior Ghostbusters' program go over my head. Geez, dude! I've only been in charge of these rookies for two months, and you act like I'm Kevin Bacon!" She then concluded the conversation by sweetly adding, "Love ya. Bye-bye, honey."

Hanging up the phone, she jumped into the backseat of the Ecto-2K, where Kuzco was still admiring his uniform. Once he noticed her entering the vehicle, the young emperor greeted her in a way similarity to how he always greeted Malina. "Hey there, Dr. V. How do you think I look in my new uniform? Am I not the hot stuff?"

"No, Kuzco, you're not." Venkman quickly responded, much to Kuzco's dismay. She then patted Zeddemore on her shoulder and said, "Let's roll, Dye. Gotta a date with a ghost."

As Diana started the car, Kuzco handed a compact disc over to Kronk and asked of him, "Hey, would ya mind putting that in the player, old buddy? It'll settle the mood nicely."

Kronk confusedly took the CD and shrugged his shoulders as he put it in the player, which automatically started the first track. An upbeat 80s tune suddenly began booming through the speakers in the car, before a female singer's voice sang gracefully. "_Ooh, see the danger signs…Sneaking up from behind…Kind of like someone's telling you what to say! Looks like you've lost control…Something growing on your soul…See it coming from a mile away! Savin' the day! Savin' the day! When you're getting to the point where it's driving you insane! Savin' the day! Savin' the day!_"

Everyone found themselves tapping their feet to the tune, including Venkman, who turned to Kuzco and said with a smile, "Not bad, E.K." But then she added with a playful scorn, "You _still_ look horrible in that uniform though."

Kuzco frowned, as Diana pulled the Ecto-2K out from the garage, its sirens blaring louder than the Ecto-1 could've possibly done so. Red and blue lights flashing all over the neighborhood, the brand new company vehicle gave bystanders a reason to stop and look in awe, as one side displayed the original business logo while the other displayed the new Junior Ghostbusters one proudly, with the slogan "We're ALWAYS Ready to Believe You" right beside both of them.

* * *

Rikers Island was filled with the lowest criminals in New York City, from the nastiest to the downright insane. One of the inmates was the evil sorcerer and former Grand Vizier of the Sultan of Agrabah, Jafar, who was arrested in the previous year for disturbing the peace, property damage, and other charges filed against him by the owner of _Pizza Planet_, where he attempted to end his greatest adversaries, the Ghostbusters.

He calmly laid there in his cell, regardless of the barbaric screaming and yelling going on outside, reading his own personal copy of _Tobin's Spirit Guide_. His usual flowing robes of black, purple, dark red, and other moody colors had been forcibly traded in for an orange jumpsuit with black prison numbers printed on the front and back of it. And perched inside of a birdcage at the corner of his cell was his pet parrot, Iago, watching an episode of _Dancing with the Stars_ on a mini television set.

"No, whaddya doin'?!" Iago screamed at the set. "Don't give it to the _Jackass_ kid! Give it to what's-her-face instead – she's got better skills!"

Jafar grew annoyed of Iago's squawky voice, which seemed to be all he ever heard since living there for the previous nine months. He was just about to hurl his book at his cage, until he stopped and noticed how the sunlight from outside had rapidly extinguished, rendering the entire complex totally dark. All of the screaming and yelling outside the cell ceased, while Iago's mini television set instantly shut off.

"Hey, hey, hey!" The parrot screeched. "What the heck's goin' on here?!"

For a moment, Jafar wondered if there was some eclipse that he missed on the August calendar. Unable to see anything pass his hand, Jafar reached up and turned on the light at the ceiling of the cell. After he did, he was met with the shocking and sudden appearance of a tall, imposing, dark hooded figure. His face was barely noticeable, but his hands were clearly visible – one was ordinary human flesh (albeit pale and discolored) and the other was entirely skeletal.

Jafar and Iago were taken aback from the bizarre visitor's presence. Iago mostly flapped all around the inside of his cage, extremely frantic. But Jafar almost appeared to be fascinated by him. With a timid voice, he asked, "Who…Who are you?"

"Lord Chernabog sends me to ask for your assistance." The hooded figure answered with a deep, ominous voice that was as imposing as his appearance.

"Assistance?" Jafar remarked, obviously puzzled. "In what?"

The hooded figure breathed heavily before answering with clenched fists. "The upcoming war."

Jafar stared at the strange visitor, while the light mounted on the ceiling went off, leaving the cell as dark as the rest of the complex. Soon all was illuminated once again – the sunlight's glow returning through the windows – as a security guard passed through Jafar's cell. However, when he glanced through the steel bars, he realized that no one was inside there. Jafar's copy of _Tobin's Spirit Guide_ sat on the floor and Iago's mini television set (which only displayed static at the moment) was the only thing sitting in his birdcage.

"Holy…!" The guard exclaimed in shock, just as he took the whistle hanging around his neck and blew it repeatedly, alarming the other guards. "Sound the alarms! Jafar's escaped! Jafar's escaped!!!"


End file.
